


What the Hell is a Normal Demigod, Anyways?

by nailbitten



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: I promise this is about recovery asfgdhnr, I've read trials of apollo, M/M, Mental Breakdown, Self-Harm, Slow Burn, There's gonna be some ocs eventually, This makes it sound like a really depressing fic, based more on Nico than Will/Nico, but thats not what the story's about, but this is probably not going to be like that, hmmm im bad at tags sorry, it'll have a happy ending, probably a lil OOC it's been a while since I read HOO, will has a potty mouth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-08
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-02-10 17:47:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 23,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12917031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nailbitten/pseuds/nailbitten
Summary: Nico promised Will three days in the infirmary, and just when he thought they could both forget about it, Will shows up and drags him away.---A probably short and haphazard fic about Nico's life between HOO and TOA. You can expect to see:- Dumb teenage mistakes- Confusion and miscommunication- Remedies to the confusion and miscommunication- Wholesome growth as individuals (hopefully)- Will not being the sunny little answer to all of Nico's problems





	1. Day 1: Blink Twice if...

**Author's Note:**

> Why, do you ask, am I writing a three days fanfic when it's almost 2018? Because. I hope everyone enjoys. I'll be cleaning up the tags and summary as I go along, I'm pretty inexperienced in this. Feedback (especially the technical kind) is encourage and appreciated!

It was maybe four days after the war had ended, not that Nico was counting. It was too hectic for him to worry about what day it was. Time was measured only by arbitrary things, like meals and Iris messages to Hazel and Reyna, and using these arbitrary things he was able to come to the conclusion that it had been four days. Four days and about twice as many naps. Yeah, that sounded about right.

So, yeah, Nico _had_ promised to stay at the infirmary, but it seemed pointless by now. He had been resting and healing and whatnot for four whole days. He would have gone sooner, and he actually tried to, but Will got swept up by the chaos of post-war injuries, and Nico didn't know what to do, so he just turned around and walked away. It wasn't as though he was fatally wounded, and both he and Will were going to be busy, anyways. No one would miss him. Especially not after _four whole entire days_ of him _not_ going to the infirmary. Camp activities would be starting up again, too. Will Solace would probably just forget that Nico di Angelo ever existed, and they would both be free to go on with their lives. Not that Nico was too sure what his life entailed, now that the quest was over and everything was going back to normal, but he would have plenty of time to figure that out without being confined to the infirmary. Everyone else was getting on with things, anyways. Hazel and Frank headed back to Camp Jupiter. Percy and Annabeth had left as well, along with Reyna. Piper and Jason stayed at Camp Half-Blood, but Jason was always busy with one thing or another, and Piper had a cabin to run or whatever. Everyone scattered after their last meeting, a few days prior. Everyone got together to discuss Leo's memorial. Nico thought about how, if Leo had been there, he might have suggested something like a giant golden statue of himself, and some kind of long-winded plaque telling about how amazing he was. He didn't know Leo well, but he thought that sounded like a pretty Leo thing to suggest. He wasn't there, though, and no statues were suggested. They settled, instead, on having a quiet service later, once everything was settled. No one set a date.

Nico was looking at himself in the mirror of his cabin's bathroom. Four days and he had more or less gotten used to his own reflection. He caught glimpses of himself throughout the quest, and he thought he was looking better now than before. Less boney, if only slightly. He pinched one of his cheeks, surprised at the small amount of fat he was able to hold between his fingers. He _was_ gaining weight, after all; his face was rounder and his eyes were less sunken. And, most importantly, he felt _normal_. Sort of. Less exhausted, more hungry, more talkative. He could hold conversations with Piper, whenever she was around, and he didn't think he was horrible at it. There wasn't much to talk about, of course, but she filled him in on what everyone was doing, and then he would try to carry the conversation as well as he knew how to. Piper was nice. Really, genuinely nice. Somehow, Nico could tell that she wasn't just talking to him out of pity or obligation. She actually wanted to talk to him, or at the very least, didn't _not_ want to talk to him.

Nico washed his face, pausing when he pulled back his hair. He needed a haircut. He kept his hair long for a while, but this was getting ridiculous. But where do you go for haircuts? Would the Aphrodite cabin have anything to do with that? There had to be some option, there were year-round campers, after all. Not everyone got to go out into the world to do things like cut their hair or shop for clothes or whatever people do when they aren't at camp. Nico wished he had stuck around a bit longer, at least long enough to have a good grasp on how the camp functioned.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. An annoying knock, the kind that's quick and loud and to a beat. He wiped the water from his brow with his fingers, not bothering to dry the rest of his face. Who could it be? Not Piper, Nico knew her knock. Jason?

He was surprised when he opened the door and found Will Solace on the other side. He was leaning on the porch railing, smiling gently, like it was only natural that he would be smiling. Nico stared at him.

"You made me a promise," Will reminded him.

"Oh," Nico paused, waiting to see if he was going to continue, maybe to tell him that he didn't have to go anymore. "You know, I feel fine now."

"Oh no, you are _not_ getting out of this that easy,"

"I'm not trying to. I'm just saying. I probably don't need to stay the whole three days,"

"We'll see," He pushed off the railing and backed down the stairs lazily. "C'mon, you."

 _You._ Did he forget his name? Part of him hoped so. He wanted to think that he was so unremarkable that his name would be easily forgotten. He'd rather be no one than be someone who was whispered about. Then again, just because no one knew his name didn't mean they wouldn't whisper about him. Would he rather others knew him as "Nico" or as "That weird Hades kid"? It wasn't a tough choice. Nico followed Will silently. The infirmary... He'd never been inside before, and he wasn't sure what to expect. Will was quiet as well, which Nico welcomed. The day they met, he couldn't seem to shut up. Not that he minded it that much. Sure, Will was irritatingly chipper, but he wasn't that bad. As long as he didn't start humming loudly or sprouting poorly done poetry, Nico thought he could manage three days with the guy.

The infirmary had two wings, both identical, holding rows of cots and wooden cabinets filled with miscellaneous medical supplies. One wing was empty, the other housing a few scrapes-and-bruises cases. Will led him to a room in the back of the empty wing, which turned out to be some kind of private check-up room, though there were doors on either side with little fogged windows. There was a scale and measuring tape on the wall, as well as a collection of seemingly random medical supplies. Will picked up a clipboard and sat at a chair, motioning for Nico to do the same.

"We're just going to do a little check-up real quick, nothing too invasive," Will clicked his pen. "You don't have a file, so..."

Nico didn't respond.

"Okay, well, to start with: when were you born?"

He shrugged.

"C'mon, Nico,"

"I don't know. I'm fifteen, probably,"

Will raised his eyebrows at his clipboard and scribbled something down. "Any allergies or medical problems or anything like that?"

"Not that I know of,"

"Alright... I assume you don't know your blood type?"

"...No."

"We should do a blood test, anyways. And I'm guessing you haven't had any vaccines," He looked up. "You aren't afraid of needles, right?"

Nico stared at him, unable to process how stupid it would be for him to be afraid of needles after everything that had happened to him.

"Dumb question. Right. Hum... We can do the blood real quick, and the vaccinations some time tomorrow, if that's alright," He stood. "Let's get your height and weight."

Nico was underweight, obviously. Will didn't say anything, but he didn't need his expert medical opinion to know that. 

"Could you take your shirt off?" Will asked suddenly as soon as Nico sat back down.

"What?"

"You were injured, right? I need to draw some blood, anyways. No big deal."

Nico blinked a few times then pulled off his shirt.

"Holy shit," Will leaned closer to look at his arms. "You should've come here right away, I could've at least gotten you bandaged properly."

"They aren't that bad," Nico said. "...Right?"

"Infected," He pointed to the largest scratch on that arm, then several others in quick succession. "Infected, infected, infected... Don't they hurt?"

"Not bad."

Will chewed on his lip. "I'll uh... Hm... Disinfect these first. Then apply some ointment and bandage them back up."

Nico waited patiently while Will went through some cabinets. After a few seconds, he seemed to have everything he needed. He kneeled down in front of him and soaked a cloth in some kind of liquid, then quickly grabbed Nico's right hand and put it over his free arm. Confused, Nico was about to move his hand away when Will blurted out "Thisisgonnahurt," and practically slapped the cloth on his bicep. Nico's nails instantly dug into Will's arm, and it took him a second to realize he should adjust his grip so he wasn't actively gouging out his flesh. After that and a hard kick to the floor, it was done with. Nico closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Sorry," Will said, not giving him much time to recover before the process repeated on the other arm. Once that was done with, Will rubbed his wrist absently and began to apply some kind of ointment. Nico wasn't sure what it was, but it had a strong odor and made his skin numb before he even finished applying it.

"Sorry," Will said, again. "...You should cut your nails, dude."

Nico didn't have anything to say to that, so he stayed quiet.

"Let's just get that blood and I'll let you rest, 'kay?"

"Alright," Rest. He was seriously going to make him stay there. For three days. Seriously.

The blood draw went by quickly and mostly painlessly, then Nico was led into one of the other rooms. It had a bed - a real bed, not a cot -, a nightstand, and some poor, poor excuse for a shower squished into the corner.

"We have these rooms for long-term patients, but we don't really ever need to use them. Figured you'd appreciate the privacy, at least. There's a nurse call button on the side of the bed. Or, uh, you could just peek out of the room and see if someone's there. Oh, and if you promise you won't run away, you can go grab your stuff from your cabin. I'll find a bag," Will vanished from the room.

Nico though that maybe, just maybe, this wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. It was just a room, after all. A room he'd have to stay in. Alone. With nothing to do. At all. He sighed. Will returned, shoving a cloth bag into Nico's arms.

"Go on, and get back right away. I _will_ come looking for you if I have to," He warned.

Nico grunted in response and left with the bag. Pipe noticed him on his way back to his cabin and asked him what he was doing. Nico explained quickly that he was going to have to stay in the infirmary for a few days.

"That sucks," She said.

"I was in there barely twenty minutes and all he did was torture me," He complained.

"I'll come see you tomorrow. Blink twice if he's holding you hostage," She joked.

Nico smiled awkwardly, waving her off. Hopefully her visit would occupy some of his day. He was never much for passing the time with conversation, but it was better than nothing. Then, he doubted she would stay long. What's the fun in talking to Nico di Angelo?

He meandered back to the infirmary with a now full bag of his few personal belongings. Will met him at the door and walked with him back to his room. Nico wondered if he thought he would actually run away. Nico wondered if he should.

Nico dropped the bag on the floor and sat on the bed. It was softer than he was expecting, shocking him when he sank deep into the mattress. Will pulled a rolling chair from the lobby, sat down (backwards), and kicked the door shut behind him in one swift motion.

"What?" Nico asked.

"Well, I thought we'd talk. Get to know each other. Unless you're ready for nap-time,"

"Ah. We're moving on to psychological torture," Nico said, mostly to himself. Will made a face.

"I just wanna talk,"

"About what?"

"Well... For starters, how're you doing?"

"Fine,"

"Really."

Will was staring at Nico, really staring at him, in a way that made him think he was trying to look deeper into him. Trying to get the truth out. Trying.

"What do you want me to say?" Nico was becoming defensive, though he wasn't sure why.

"Just... Talk to me. You have nightmares? Trouble sleeping? Anything... Y'know, a doctor would want to know about?"

"Will, you're practically a stranger,"

"And?"

"And I don't even talk to my -" He hesitated with the word. "My friends about that stuff,"

"So? I'm just worried about you. You can tell me. It'll be confidential,"

"Why are you pressing so hard?"

"Why are you so suspicious?"

"Will."

"Because you looked like shit the last time we spoke, Nico. And to be honest, you look like shit now," Will said. "Because there are bags under your eyes and you're thin as paper. For fuck's sake, Nico, I'm not an idiot. You barely eat, barely talk, barely do much of anything at all. Obviously I'm worried, obviously I want to help. Anyone would,"

"Then why don't they?" Nico was seething now, gradually becoming angrier the more they talked. But why? "My friends aren't bad people, but they don't worry about me. Piper talks to me plenty, and she never brings all that up. And no one else bothers to, either. They don't worry because they can see they don't need to. Not even my friends. So why do _you_ think you have to?"

"Nico -"

"Don't," Nico shook his head. "Never mind. I don't want to talk about this. I'll stay my three days, and you can stab me with as many needles as you want, but just leave me alone."

Will was silent for a while. Nico wouldn't look at him. He didn't want to fight, to get angry, to do anything, really. He didn't mean it, but he didn't really _not_ mean it, either. Will huffed and stormed out. Nico was alone.

In the hours that passed, Nico came to a realization as to why he had gotten so angry. He thought about his face in the mirror, about how he could barely pinch the fat on his cheeks. He thought about the way his ribs seemed to slowly disappear, bit by bit, day by day. He thought about how natural it felt to talk to Piper. But was it all useless? Nico thought he had made progress, but was it so small that it didn't even matter? Piper never mentioned he seemed to be gaining weight because she didn't see a difference. And Will thought Nico wasn't trying to help himself at all because he just looked the same as he did four days ago. He had never thought about those things before, never noticed them, because he was so caught up in what  _he_ noticed. But obviously that wasn't enough. Progress wasn't worth anything until someone else could see it, right? He watched the campers go to lunch from the only window in the small room, then watched them come back. No one ever bothered to bring him anything. He didn't mind. Not eating was easy. He could deal with it. It was still bright out, but Nico kicked off his jeans and crawled into bed, not tired but bored enough to sleep. He hoped he could get a full night's rest. Then maybe when he woke up he could figure himself out.

 


	2. Day 2: Out early for good behaviour

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starting to get into the swing of things. I have a few more chapters written down, and those are a lot more dialogue-heavy than this, so if the amount of narration seems daunting, don't worry. After this chapter I'm probably going to start doing some kind of schedule so I don't run out of material to post when I inevitably burn out on writing this for a week or two. Though, I'll be honest, I'm really excited for some of the upcoming chapters. So excited I... might have rushed this just a little. Regardless, hope you guys enjoy.   
> (Also, I mostly used Kayla as a filler name since she's the only other girl demigod from the Apollo cabin I'm aware of. I don't know her personality, really ((or if she even has one tbh)) but I figured it'd be fine)

When Nico woke up, it was early. Too early. The sun was just beginning to rise, though considering how early he had gone to bed, he felt lucky it was light out at all. He pulled off his clothes and thought on the small shower. He’d have to take a shower eventually. He’d rather it be now than later, after other people were in the infirmary with him. Still, it felt awkward that he would be taking a shower in the corner of a bedroom, but there wasn’t much room for showers anywhere else, and he supposed that if someone was confined to a room like this they’d need some way to clean themselves. The entire infirmary was kind of cramped, really. Probably because it was built a long time ago, maybe when there were less campers and less consideration for non-emergencies. It was probably only ever intended as a place for the injured to rest. He wondered who he’d have to convince to build an addition to the building. Maybe Jason would know, if he would ever get a chance to talk to him. He was about to turn the water on and just get it over with, when he remembered his bandages. He couldn’t shower with those on, and he doubted Will would be happy if he took them off, considering he didn’t even know how long it would be until he could redress them.

About an hour had passed since he got up, and Nico was getting bored of standing around and thinking about showers. He busied himself by snooping around the empty infirmary, sticking to his side of the building, though no one was around. The other rooms were identical to his, with the exception of different pillowcases. There was plenty of stuff to read in the check-up room - lists, posters, documents, medicines, a few magazines, even - but it wasn’t like Nico could read them. Boring. He looked down the empty wing to the other side of the building, wondering if the rooms there were identical to his.

Suddenly, the door opened, causing Nico to jump. He had forgotten that Apollo’s children were early risers. There was only one girl, though. She spotted him and smiled brightly.

"Hey, there. You alright?"

"... Just stretching my legs." Nico said.

“Oh, yeah. You’re the one Will’s got on lock-down, huh?”

“...Yep.”  


“Hm…” She pursed her lips and shifted her weight. “You must be getting bored. There’s nothing to do around here, really… Unless you’d be a dear and help me do inventory?”

She was so sweet that Nico didn’t want to refuse, and it wasn’t like sitting in his room staring at the ceiling was any better than helping her out. So he agreed. She handed him a clipboard with a few papers on it and pointed him to a cabinet filled with bottles of pills and liquids. The papers were lists of medications, the names too long and confusing for him to even begin to decipher, but they were each color-coded with the bottles on the shelves. She told him that they weren’t going to bother counting how many pills were in each bottle, and that he should just pop them open and see how much was inside. Check if it was almost full, slash if more than half was gone. Same with the liquids. Easy. They spent a while like that, occasionally stopping to have short conversations. Nico introduced himself. She said her name was Kayla. Then she asked when he first came to camp. Who’s his godly parent? How old was he? Why had she never seen him around? Had he seen Hedge’s son? She was sweet and energetic, and though the conversations didn’t quite stick, it wasn’t awkward. Eventually, Nico heard something and glanced outside. His eyes fixed on Will and his heart skipped a beat.

He and a few other campers were heading to the infirmary, probably to start their shifts or something along those lines. He was talking to someone, laughing. No one seemed to notice he was inside. It was probably too dark to make him out through the windows. Nico didn’t want to be seen by him, by anyone. He felt like he was about to be caught doing something he shouldn’t. He put down his clipboard.

“I, uh, need to go,”

Kayla glanced outside, then at the clock. “Ohh, well, okay. Thanks for the help,” 

He was glad she seemed to understand. He had barely closed to door to his room when he heard Will and the others enter, everyone greeting Kayla. Nico sat on his bed, then stood and stretched, then sat down again.

There was a noise outside of his room, then the door slammed open. Nico jumped.  


“No one fed you yesterday!” Will exclaimed, placing a plate on the nightstand. Eggs, bacon. Standard breakfast. Nico didn’t say anything. Will pulled a chair into the room and sat down.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed you,”

“Yeah.”

Will waited. Nico stared back at him. He was supposed to say it was alright, that he was forgiven.

“You know,” He said instead, not entirely sure where he was going aware that he _had_ to say _something_. “Just because… You don’t _think_ I’m trying, doesn’t mean I’m _not_. I guess it doesn’t look like I’m getting better, and it’ll be a while until it does, but it just made me really... angry that you acted like you knew everything about me when you obviously don’t,”

“O-oh,” Will seemed at a loss. He was probably still confused as to why yesterday hadn’t been brushed off yet.

“So…” Nico took a deep breath. “Just... you know, be careful?”

“Yeah. Okay, sorry,”

“It’s fine.”

Silence.

“So, how exactly…” Will stumbled over his words. Nico was surprised to see him at all flustered. “You - you’re getting better?”

“I’m eating more. Actually hungry now. Speaking of which,” Nico picked up the plate from the nightstand and set it on his lap. “And when I talk to people - well, Piper, mostly, - I feel like I can talk well. It’s not that hard anymore,”

Saying it out loud made Nico feel kind of pathetic. Those weren’t accomplishments. Just normal everyday things everyone should be able to do. Why was he so sub-par?  


“Ah…” Will looked at nothing in particular, thinking. “I’m sorry. I just assumed, it felt like you were trying to be difficult, so I thought you weren’t actually doing anything. I should’ve asked,”

“Well, I was being difficult,” Nico admitted. “I just don’t get you. You’re weird,”

“Look who’s talking,”

“Hey,” 

Will looked around the room. “Since you’re recovering, it would be convenient for you to keep some kind of journal, but you’re dyslexic, right?”

“I wouldn’t be able to read English, anyways,”

“Oh? So… you were born in Italy?”

“Mhm,”

“Noted. Well, how about this,” Will stood. “You stay here until dinner so I can be sure that you’re alright, and after that you can come in every week for a weigh. Sound good?”

“I can handle that,” Nico agreed, excited at the thought of getting out early.

“Alright. Eat your breakfast and I’ll get those vaccinations ready,”

Nico ate, listening to Will in the other room. Now that they had come to some kind of understanding, he hoped… What? That they could be friends? He had never really  _ wanted  _ to be friends with someone before, but when he wasn’t being annoying, Will was actually sort of charming. Nico didn’t have many friends, anyways. He figured he could use a few.

_I’m getting ahead of myself,_ Nico thought. _I don’t even know if he likes me. I'm just his patient.  
_

Still, it wouldn’t hurt to try, right? Nico stopped thinking about it before he could convince himself otherwise. No more being overly defensive, no more pushing people away. Will came back into the room and sat down.

“By the way, what should I do about my bandages?” Nico asked, somewhat eager to continue the conversation.

“Oh, shit,” Will pushed the chair closer to the bed and began unwrapping his arms. “Yeah, I’ll redress them real quick. Well, actually, you can take a shower real quick, _then_ I’ll redress them, since they’re mostly healed. Then you can come in tomorrow and I’ll check them again, just in case,”

“Alright,” Nico waited for him to leave the room and quickly took a shower. The water was too hot, then too cold, then too hot - there didn’t seem to be any type of in between no matter how slightly he moved the handle. Because of this, his shower was short, and his skin was red by the time he got out. Will waited a bit, then knocked on the door. Nico told him to come in. Will sat down again and started wrapping his arms back up. 

“These were really irritated yesterday,” He said. “They must have hurt. Why did you act like they didn't?”

“I was always aching someplace or another,” Nico said. “I guess I just didn’t notice.”

“I doubt that, but at least they were somewhat healed by the time you got here.”

Thinking about the quest and the war was inevitable, but it still made Nico feel sick. He recalled shadow traveling to the tree, the fatigue and weakness he had to endure for so long before that. For the whole quest Nico was telling himself over and over, _“Just a little more,”_ until it was finally done with. It was nice to think he was now able to relax and start worrying about less important things, like possible friendships. Like Will. They sat in silence for a while, neither one having anything to say while he was preparing some kind of injection for him. Just then, Piper walked in, escorted by Kayla who disappeared quickly after. Will took the distraction as an opportunity to administer the first shot.

“Wow, you weren’t kidding. He’s actually torturing you,” She said, looking around the small room.

Will looked up at Nico with a raised eyebrow and a smirk, and he felt his face grow hot. He knew he had talked about Will. _Of course you talked about him, he’s keeping you hostage here. Why wouldn't you have mentioned him?_ There was nothing to be embarrassed about.

“I hope I didn’t make too bad of a first impression,” Will said, putting the used needle in a bag to dispose of it later.

“You’re taking care of him at least,” Piper said. “I think.”

“I am. Hey, since you’re Nico’s friend, can I ask some questions? If that’s fine with you two,”

“Depends on the questions,” Nico said, hesitantly. Piper sat on the foot of the bed.

“Well, to start with, would you say Nico is healthier now than he was during the quest?”

Piper paused. “He wasn’t really there for the whole thing, and I was busy a lot…”

Nico understood immediately. Piper never paid him any mind. She wasn't sure how to answer.  


“...He looked bad. Like, _really_ bad. I know that much. And he’s better now,” She decided.

“Does he eat more?” Will asked.

“I mean, he must. He never ate anything before,”

Will didn’t seem satisfied with that. “I don’t mean to be rude, but…”

“I was off on my own for most of the time she was around,” Nico felt the need to defend her. “I was actually trying to not be seen. It’s not her fault if she didn’t notice me,”

“Is there anyone else here that was, y’know, actually close to you? I just want to get a clearer picture on how bad you were during the quest,” Will said. “It’s not completely necessary, but it would be nice.”

_ Actually close to you. _ No one was close to him. they didn't want to be. No, that wasn't it. They tried, sometimes. Some of them. He just didn't want to try back.

“...Jason was definitely worried about you, Nico. Maybe him?” Piper suggested.

“He… No, that’s complicated,” Nico remembered their encounter with Cupid, pushing his discomfort away as quickly as he could. “He was worried about… something else.”

“Oh? Well, how about Coach?” Piper said. “He healed your wounds, right? He wouldn’t stop bragging about it last time I saw him. Maybe it’ll help with a more medical perspective or something?”

“Oh, right,” Nico said. “I guess,"  


“I’ll see if I can get a hold of him, then,” Will said. “I just feel like… I’m forgetting something,”

Nico watched Will as he zoned out, evidently thinking hard about something. “Something to do with me?”

“I think so,” Will ran his fingers through his hair. “You came here… because…”

“...Because I was injured…”

“Was that it?” Will asked. “I grabbed you, felt you were hurt, but I don’t know… Wasn’t there another injury?”

Piper looked at Nico, an eyebrow raised. “Coach said something about you becoming transparent?” 

“Yeah, because of the shadow traveling,” Nico said dismissively. Obviously, Will would know about that. He had seem him do it. That was why he was worried in the first place.  


Will snapped his fingers. “That was it! Gods, I’m an idiot. No more underworld magic,”

“What?” _He forgot?_  


“I forgot. Sorry,” He said. “That was why I was so concerned. You over-exerted yourself, not just from fighting but with that… Shadow travel?”

“I wasn’t planning on using _that_ anytime soon, but when you say ‘no more’, do you mean forever?”

Will rolled his eyes. “Nope, never again, Nico, for the rest of your life. I'm gonna keep you locked up here so you can't ever use your abilities ever again. No, just until you’re strong enough. Then you can train with your powers again,”

“And how will you know when I’m strong enough?”

“I was thinking maybe, just maybe, you would be willing to just _tell_ me that,”

“I don’t know. I’m feeling kind of difficult,” Nico said. "But as long as you don't actually lock me up here, I think I can cooperate."   


"Oh, please, you don't hate it that much,"

"I wouldn't bet on it if I were you,"

“You two get along well,” Piper noted. 

“He likes me,” Will grinned, putting an arm around Nico, who’s heart almost stopped beating for the third time that day. _Likes you. Of course you like him, you want to be his friend. Obviously he didn’t mean it like_ that _. Obviously._

Nico hesitated so long reminding himself how many meanings the word _like_ has that he didn’t respond.

“See? He won’t even bother denying it,” Will said.

“Shut up,” Nico finally said. 

“I think we could become good friends before too long,” 

Nico looked between him and Piper. “Friends… Maybe. We’ll see,”

Piper laughed. “That’s about as enthusiastic of a response I think you’re gonna get,” 

Nico blushed. “I’m not used to… this,”

“Don’t worry, as far as friends go, I’m an easy one to have,” Will assured him. “Seriously. Just pay attention to me. That’s all,” 

“How _much_ attention?”

“What, are you too busy for me?” 

“We’ll see,”

“ _We’ll see,_ ” Will imitated his tone with shocking accuracy. Piper laughed again. 

“I think I’d better get going,” She said, standing up. “I think I have some kind of training thing to attend with my cabin. I’ll see you two later,”

“Bye,” Will said. Nico raised a hand for a half-hearted wave.

The boys sat quietly for a few seconds, listening as Piper walked away from them and presumably out the  front door.

“Well,” Will said, preparing another syringe. “Ready for number two?” 


	3. What goes up...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's kinda long, but I might end up splitting the next one in two parts, and this one is all a solid day so I figured I should just keep it all in one part.  
> So, I kinda changed the order of what I'm doing, and now what I said last time about dialogue heavy chapters (plural) is a lie - next chapter is going to not have much dialogue in it at all.  
> I think I've settled on a schedule: I'm probably going to upload every Saturday (unless I release a very short chapter, in which case I might just end up uploading it during the week) since I just don't have the energy to type stuff up after school, ever. That said, I have to at least chapter eight hand-written, so there should be at least one upload per week for a while. Hope you guys enjoy.

Nico woke up early the next day. Not before the other campers, not by a long shot, but still, it was early. He didn’t have any sort of schedule, and nowhere to be, so he kept returning to a somehow peaceful sleep. Well, he did have one place to be. Will  _ had _ asked him to visit him at the infirmary, so he eventually rolled out of bed and got dressed. As he wandered down to the building, he tried to convince himself he wasn’t being stared at. These past few days had helped him ease back into camp, but now that he wasn’t busy or alone, he became much more aware of his presence. He thought maybe he’d feel a little more at home, but he was still treated basically the same. He just hoped that now people were entirely convinced that, however creepy or strange he might seem, he was one of the good guys. Not a hero, maybe, but not just some freak, either.  


When he approached the building, Kayla was sitting on the porch. She squinted through the sunlight to see him.

“Hey. Here to see Will?”

_ Here so he can see me. _ “...Yeah.”

“Tough. He’s at archery. It’s a miracle, really,”

“That he’s at archery?”

She nodded. “He’s been here all day every day since the war. Great help, but it was getting of my nerves.” She paused. “He likes you, I think. Or he would’ve let us convince him to get out,”

“Yeah, I guess he does,”

“Will’s a great friend, sometimes. Bit of an idiot, short temper. But good. You guys fight the other day?”

“Kinda. It was mostly my fault,”

“Doubt it. Seriously. He’s nice, though. Just don’t let him walk all over you,” 

“Wasn’t planning on it,” Nico paused. “So, when’s he getting back?”

“He just left, and it runs for over an hour, so he won’t be back for a while. ‘Less he does something stupid, like shoot someone in the leg,” She said, standing. “It’s real hot out. Some of my friends are waiting at the lake. You should come.”

“What?”  _ The lake? With friends? She wants me to come? _

“We aren’t gonna swim or anything. We just sit around and dangle our legs in the water and talk. Evan sleeps half the time, anyways. You’ll already be better company,”

“You - I mean, you’re  _ sure  _ that they’ll be fine with that? With me?”

Kayla paused, then cupped her hands around his face, staring up into his eyes. “Nico di Angelo, what is this conniption you have with yourself?”

“I don’t know,” Nico couldn’t help but smile. He felt ridiculous for worrying. They were just people. He was just a person. It would be fine. He let Kayla lead him away.

 

~~~

 

“I brought Nico di Angelo with me,” Kayla announced as they neared the small group already at the lake, scattered around boulders sticking out from around the water. Nico immediately felt awkward, like he was on display. One of the boys - who was probably the oldest one there and had short, brown hair and dark skin - patted the large, flat rock he was sitting on. As Nico got closer, he noticed he had an eyebrow piercing.  


“C’mon over here, Nico,” He said. Nico hesitantly sat a comfortable distance from him.

“Who is this guy? Just a nobody?” A girl asked. Her blonde hair was thick and curly, some locks braided or clipped back out of her face. She was the palest out of the group, and was applying sunscreen to her pinkish arms. She had several facial piercings in - a nose ring, a ball under her lip, and two rings in her brow. Nico wasn't really used to seeing facial piercings. They weren't very common in camp.  


“He’s one of the prophecy dudes, you idiot!” The boy sitting beside Nico said.

“Er, I wasn’t actually really in the prophecy… I was just involved in the quest. Well,  _ a _ quest,” He corrected them.

“This quest, that quest, same shit, right?” The girl said. “Hey, you should put some on. You’ll get burned,” 

Nico wasn’t expecting her to suddenly throw the sunscreen at him, but he caught it successfully. “Oh. Thanks.” He hadn’t thought about sunscreen much, but it  _ was  _ summer, regardless of how much time he spent indoors. He began applying it to his arms. 

“Here, I’m Evan,” The boy extended a hand to Nico, who shook it quickly. His wrists were covered with bracelets. “The loud one’s Andrea. No one else really matters,”

“Hey!” One of the others yelled.

“Well?” He said. 

“I’m Ivy, this is Joyce,” The other girl said. They looked alike. If Nico had to guess, he’d say they were from the same cabin, if not sisters on the mortal side as well. They both had dark, straight hair, though Ivy’s was cropped and Joyce’s was long, and they both had flawless olive skin.

“Great. You know with four names he’s bound to forget one of them, though,” Andrea said.

Nico wiped a hand over his forehead. He was starting to sweat. 

“Hey, kick off your shoes, the water’s cold as fuck,” Evan nudged him. 

Nico slipped off his shoes and socks, setting them beside him as Evan had done, and rolled up his jeans a bit. The water was indeed very cold, but it was so hot outside that it felt great.

“All your buddies ran off, right?” Joyce said. It took Nico a second to be sure she was speaking to him.

“...Yeah, to New Rome.”

"Well, that sucks," Andrea said  


“It’s where they belong,”

“Not Percy and Annabeth. Gods, I’m gonna miss that girl. She was so smart,”

“So useful, you mean,” Kayla said.

“You miss ‘em?” Joyce asked, ignoring the other two.

“Oh… I didn’t know them well, but kinda. I still talk to them, though. I mean, I talk to Hazel,” She was the only one he really Iris Messaged. Reyna was busy all on her way to the other camp, and he didn’t really want to talk to Percy or Annabeth after his little confession. There was a reason he did it on the day they were leaving.

“Hazel?” She asked.  


“The pretty one, with the round face and cinnamon hair,” Andrea chimed in.

“Oh, right. You talk to Piper, though, yeah? I mean, these people are, like, your  _ friends _ , right?” Joyce asked jokingly.

Nico hesitated. “I didn’t really let them be,”

“That’s just how it is, sometimes,” Andrea sighed and kicked her feet in the water, splashing the other girls a bit. “Maybe when things calm down some, you all can get together and try again,”

“Maybe,” Nico agreed.

Evan leaned back, laying down on the rock with his feet still in the water. The others quickly got swept up in a conversation that Nico couldn’t follow about people he didn’t know. It wasn’t that bad, though, being ignored. He stared out at the lake, vaguely listening to what the others were talking about. Gossip, he guessed. Eventually he looked back at Evan, who seemed to be asleep, and figured it wouldn’t be too bad to rest a bit, too. Just as he laid down, though, Evan spoke quietly with his eyes still closed.

“They didn’t mean to brush you off or nothin’,” He said. “They’re kinda dumb.”

“It’s fine. This is relaxing, at least,” Nico said.

“Sure is… What’ve you been up to since you got back? Haven’t seen you much,”

“Funerals?”

“Oh, right,” Evan chuckled awkwardly. “Sorry,”

“No, I’m sorry, uh,” Nico took a deep breath.  _ Just talk. Like a normal person. Please.  _ “I’ve been at the infirmary, mostly.”

“Right. You helped Kayla out the other day,”

“She mentioned me?”

“Yeah, in passing,”

“Oh.”

“Only good things,” Evan assured him.

“Really?”

“You surprised?” Evan laughed.

“Well… I guess not. People just used to… I don’t know.”

“Did people bully you or something? I’ll beat ‘em,” 

“No, not really. Just… Since my father is who he is… and I guess I’m kinda scary,”

“You’re about as scary as a fly. Though I wouldn’t want to end up in the wrong side of a fight with you,”

“What’re you two conspiring about over there?” Andrea yelled, noticing their conversation.

“None of your business!” Evan yelled back.

Nico smiled. This was nice. Did everyone act this way with each other on the Argo? Could he act like this with them one day? Just joke around with Jason and Piper, with Will, with these people?

Some more time passed, evidently quickly as Kayla suddenly said, “Nico, you have a date, right?”

“What?” Nico and Andrea both asked, the latter much more intrigued. 

“It was a joke. Let’s head back to the infirmary, Will’s probably waiting,”

“Ooh, _Will!_ Have fun,” Andrea waved them off.

Nico only grumbled in response, and Evan chuckled. He followed Kayla back, his socks and ankles wet. When they entered the building, it was empty aside from Will and a boy laying on one of the cots with a bandaged leg. A snapped arrow was placed on a tray on the table beside him.

“Oh my gods,” Kayla said. “You actually shot someone in the leg.”

Nico suppressed a laugh for the sake of the injured camper. Will pulled ambrosia from the cabinet beside them. 

“Shut up, Kay,” He muttered.

“Aren’t children of Apollo supposed to be  _ good  _ at archery?” Nico asked.

“Most of us. Will’s talents are more to do with healing and music and all that, though. He can’t get  _ all _ the power,” Kayla said.

“What’s that even mean?” Nico asked. “That he’s a healer, or whatever?”

“I’d show you, but I’m burned out at the moment,” Will said. “I used my powers too much, like you.”

“Oh,”  _ So Will pushed himself too hard as well. No wonder he was concerned. _

“Go wait in the check-up room, Nico. I’ll be there in a sec,”

“He just needs his wounds checked, right? I can take care of it,” Kayla offered.

“No,” Will said, quickly. “No, I’ll do it.”

Kayla stared at Will’s back with raised eyebrows for a second. Nico shrugged it off. Will seemed like the type to be particular about his patients. So, what? He waited in the room for a few minutes until Will entered. His face was red, but he was smiling like he always was.

“Shirt.”

Nico obliged.

“Yeah, these look fine,” He said, after removing the bandages.

“They feel better, too,” Nico said, though the scars did itch a bit sometimes.  


“Good. That’s good.”

Nico waited.

“Oh, um, you can -”

Nico was already pulling his shirt back over his head.

“- Yeah.”

Silence.

“So,” Both of them started at once. Nico blushed, waving himself off.

“Sorry. Uh, so, how have things been?” Will asked.

“Boring?”

“Well, I was thinking, uh,” Will stumbled over his thoughts. “I guess you don’t have an activity schedule. Not that most of us are really following those anymore…”

“Nope.”

“Well, I was just thinking, now that you’re all healed up, maybe we could find time for some, uh…” 

“...Some what? Sparring?” Nico guessed. 

“Right! Yeah. I don’t really know how to use this thing,” He smacked the sword at his hip. “You have lots of training, though, right?”

“With only the best undead sword-masters,” Nico recalled. “I probably won’t be a good teacher, but if you’re that desperate…”

“Great!” Will said, a little too loud. “I mean, that’s great. Maybe after lunch? The arena should be empty for a while. Or is that too soon?”

“After lunch is fine. I don’t have anything better to do,”

“Good. Okay,” Will paused. “I’m… gonna go check on the, uh, kid, out there. See you later,” 

“Yeah,” Nico said, but Will was already out of the door. He left, not looking at Will when he passed him. Kayla was back out on the porch. She didn’t say anything, but she giggled when he caught her eye, making him smile as well. He felt good. Like, actually,  _ really  _ good. Even Piper commented on it when she saw him, though he was quickly overwhelmed with Jason.

“Nico! How ya doin’?” Jason asked, tentatively patting him on the shoulder.

“I'm fine. What about you? You seem busy,” Nico said.

“I am. Very busy,” He agreed. “It’s great.”

“Nothing I can help with?”

“Nah, not really. Just planning things, then building things, then planning more things while those things are being built…” Jason said. “Gods, I can’t believe summer’s almost over. Hope you don’t get lonely.”

“You guys are leaving?” Nico asked.

“Chiron wants us to go back to school this year,” Piper explained. “We’ll be leaving soon, probably.”

“Oh, right,”

“Will’s year round, at least,” Piper said. “And of course you can Iris Message us any time,”

“Will?” Jason asked.

“Will Solace,” Piper said. “The Apollo Counselor?”

“You’re making  _ friends _ ?!” Jason yelled in an obviously deliberate attempt to embarrass him. Some campers nearby giggled. 

“Shut up.”

“I mean, I  _ think _ they’re friends,” Piper said.

“We are, I guess,”

“You  _ guess _ ?” Jason laughed.

“Mm…”

“If you talk to each other… and do stuff together… I’m pretty sure you’re friends,” Jason said.

“You  _ have _ actually, like, willingly done stuff with him, right?” Piper asked.

“...He asked me to help him train today,” Nico said.

“Really? Doesn’t he do archery?” Piper asked. “Like, you know, the rest of his cabin?”

“He’s no good at it,” Nico explained. “Shot someone in the leg today. I think he’s giving up?”

“Wow. Impressive,” Jason said. “Well, he couldn’t have picked a much better teacher. Hope it goes well,”

“Yeah, don’t let him stab you in the leg,” Piper joked.

“Don’t jinx it,” 

After talking to them, Nico waited in his cabin until lunch, which was pretty uneventful. As they had done before his stay at the infirmary, Piper and Jason sat at his table. They talked a bit, but other than that, it was just lunch. Just lunch, then he would be hanging out with Will. Well, not actually hanging out, really, but still. He kept glancing at the Apollo table, catching brief glimpses of conversation and laughter. He’d never really interacted with Will outside of the infirmary, not that it should change much. 

The arena was empty, as Will had speculated. Nico waited a bit, alone. Was this weird? Maybe Will would change his mind. Maybe Nico would wait here, forever, like an idiot, for a boy he wasn’t even really sure he was friends with.

Will did show up soon after those thoughts crossed his mind.

“Hey,” He said.

“...Hey.” Nico waited, looking around. “So… You’ve at least held a sword before, right?”

“Oh, yeah,” Will nodded, drawing it. “Yeah, I just don’t really… Get the whole fighting part.”

“Most of it is just reflex, to be honest,” Nico said, unsheathing his own sword. “Just, uh, okay… I don’t really know where to start… Want to practice disarming?”

Will shrugged. “You’re the teacher,”

“Great. Alright, well, stand like this…”

The afternoon passed by quickly. There was hardly any conversation. Something about the atmosphere was tense, maybe because they were both focused or maybe because something about being together was just awkward. Nico did his best to teach Will how to block, strike, and disarm without actually swinging at him, afraid that if they were to actually spar he might end up hurting him. That was the only effective way to teach him, though. Nico found himself having to constantly derail his own attacks when Will failed to block, but he at least seemed to be catching on. Nico was still worried  _ he  _ might be the one to stab  _ Will _ in the leg.

“Here, you go on offense,” Nico adjusted his stance.

"Oh, are you sure?"  


“You’ve been watching me, right? It’s not too hard. Try stabbing me,”

“You’re  _ sure _ ,”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Yes, Will, I’m  _ sure _ . Just straight ahead, right for my chest. I’ll block it, I promise,”

Will hesitated.

“I’m not going to let you actually stab me. Just try,”

“But, Nico,”

“Stab me already, Will!”

Will finally complied. There was a loud clang, metal striking metal as Nico deflected the strike.

“See? That’s how you should block. One quick, fluid movement. Use your blade to redirect mine instead of trying to stop it. Now, uh, slash from the top, like you’re going for my throat,”

Will trusted Nico to block quicker now, but he still didn’t go all-in. Nico slid his blade up Will’s and rested the tip against his neck. 

“There. You go back on defense, and we’ll try again. Remember, you’re trying to change where my sword is going, not stop it from moving.”

Nico and Will both became to consumed that they didn’t immediately notice when a beginner’s class filed into the arena. 

“Oh - sorry, we’ll get out of your way,” Nico quickly sheathed his sword, embarrassed. The instructor was presumably the Counselor of another cabin. Nico didn’t recognize him.

“No worries,” The older boy waved him off. “I get the impression you should be teaching a class of your own. You seem good at it,”

Nico glanced at the crowd of children. Most of them were at least a few years younger than him. His chest tightened. “I’m not so sure,” He said, and left it at that. Will followed him out of the arena.

“Well, that was fun,” Will said.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess,”

“You guess?”

“Yeah. I mean, if you say so,”

“Shut up.”

Nico froze, but Will was still smiling. Suddenly, he grabbed him by the shoulders and pressed their foreheads together. Nico blushed.  _ Too close. _

“Why do you think I wanted to spend time with you?” He asked.

“I don’t know? Because you can?”

Will frowned. “Because it’s enjoyable. For fuck’s sake,”

“How?” Nico asked. He didn’t want to do this, to be difficult, to challenge him, but he wanted Will to prove it.

“How? Nico, come on, you know I can’t explain that,” Will said. “I mean, can you? Think for a second. You like me, right? And your other friends? Can you explain why you like us?”

Nico thought. He couldn’t put it into words. It was just a feeling. They made him happy. Especially Will, especially in this moment. He felt giggly, almost, like how Kayla made him feel, but it wasn’t because he was laughing. Even now, when he had been worried just a few seconds ago, he felt great.  _ So close. _

“No, I guess not,” He decided.

“I wouldn’t  _ try _ to spend time with you if I didn’t feel that, too. So no more  _ ‘I guess’  _ and  _ ‘if you say so’ _ s, okay?”

Will pulled away from him and kept walking. Nico pulled himself together and followed him. But where were they going?  _ I should go back to my cabin. _ Will stopped and turned around quickly.

“Hey, do you want to do something? Until diner? Which is kinda soon, actually, but I’ve been pretty much banned from the infirmary, and I just realized I have nothing to do,”

“What would we do?” Nico asked.

“I don’t know. What do  _ you _ do?”

“I don’t do anything,”

“You must do  _ something _ , you were out with Kayla today, right? What were you doing?”

“Oh. Yeah. We were at the lake,” Nico remembered. “With… Evan and Andrea… and some others.”

“Evan and Andrea?”

“You know them?”

“You know one, you know the other. They’re inseparable, those two.” Will shook his head. “So… You were just at the lake?”

“Yeah. We just talked, that’s all.”

“Ohh… Good.” Will said, almost sounding relieved.

“What, were you worried or something?”

“No. I mean,  _ should _ I be worried?”

Nico laughed. “I don’t know, I just met them. You just seem worried,”

“I don’t mean to judge. I mean, I don’t really know them. They just seem kinda… Well, it’s a summer camp, you know? Full of teenagers, mostly. And teenagers do stuff sometimes. Because they’re teenagers. You know?”

“I’m not following.”

“What I’m getting at,” Will said. “Is that I’m glad you’re making friends, but don’t let them convince you to, well… Do… Stuff… You know?”

“Stuff? What kind of stuff?”

Will turned red. “For fuck’s sake, Nico. I don’t know. Just… Stuff. Anything that you shouldn’t be doing because you’re fifteen. Probably.”

“Okay?”

“Okay,” Will said. “Okay.”

Someone caught Nico’s eye. He waved.  _ Jason _ . He was jogging towards them.

“Hey, Nico. And - Will?” Jason motioned towards him.

“Yeah, that’s me. Jason, right?”

“Yep. You okay? You look kinda…” Jason squinted. “Hot. You should make sure you’re drinking enough water, it’s still Summer,”

“Thanks, but I’m fine,”

“Where’s Piper?” Nico asked, noticing her absence.

“She’s training with her cabin,” Jason explained.

“Oh… I just thought…”

“...That since I’m not busy, we should be spending some time together?” Jason finished. “Yeah, you and me both, buddy. You and me both…”

“...Oh.”

“Speaking of spending time together, I was talking to Percy earlier, and we’re thinking of planning a reunion thing. You know, for everyone that was on the Argo,”

“A reunion? Already? We’ve been away from each other for barely a week,” Nico complained.

“Oh, don’t sound so  _ devastated _ . I’ll start to think you don’t like us,”

“He  _ loves _ you guys,” Will draped an arm around Nico, grinning mischievously. “He talks about how much he just  _ loves _ his  _ dear, dear friends  _ aaaaaaall the time. Never stops talking about you,” 

Nico brushed Will off. “Shut up, I do not.”

“I don’t know, Will doesn’t  _ seem _ like a liar,” Jason said.

“Oh, no. I would never  _ lie _ or  _ embellish _ or -”

“Shut up, both of you, shut up,”

Jason laughed. “I like this Will guy. Hey, maybe we should invite him to the reunion.”

“What? He wasn’t even involved in any of the quests,”

Jason turned away from Will, pulling Nico next to him and speaking in a low tone. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. Everyone’ll want to meet him,” He said with an over-exaggerated wink.

Nico turned around, oblivious to whatever message Jason was trying to convey. “I guess you’re invited?”

“Get back at me when you have a date, Jason.” Will said.

“Will do,” Jason said. “Hey, I’m going to go make Piper pay attention to me. Have fun, you two,”

“Alright, see ya,”

“Bye,”

Nico and Will watched him walk off.

“That was kinda weird,” Nico said.

Will wrapped his arm back around Nico, hanging off of him dramatically. “He’s just excited ‘cause you’re making  _ friends _ ,”

“ _ Everyone _ is excited that I’m making friends,” He grumbled, shaking Will off.  


“They should be. From what I understand, you used to be quite the loner.”

Nico thought back to the Argo. The isolation. The starvation. The constant exhaustion. His trip into Tartarus. Further, when he had tried to betray Percy. Leaving camp. The weird looks. The whispers. Bianca. It hit him, hard, all of those memories suddenly flooding his mind. 

“Nico? You okay? We should find some place to sit down, you look kinda pale.”

“I need to-” Nico choked, trying to shake off his numbness. “I need to go back to my cabin, actually. I’ll see you later,”

“Oh.” Will sounded disappointed. “Okay. Well, see ya.”

Nico walked away quickly, waiting until he was able to hide in the shadow of a building.  _ Shadow _ . He wanted back in his cabin, now. He  _ needed _ to get away.

He could.


	4. ...Must come down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the simple truth is that I had to get this out quick. Unfortunately, I didn't have much time to consider making this chapter longer, because I'm not going to be able to write this for the rest of today or probably tomorrow. Because of that, it's a very, very short chapter (though I did prefer it to be on its own anyways given what happens). HOWEVER, I do plan to add the next chapter some time during the week, since this was very short and not plot-filled. No promises, but I'm going to try. We're on break, so things are actually more hectic for writing than they were during school.
> 
> Warning: This is the self-harm chapter, and it pretty much exclusively details... Well, self-harm. So, be prepared for that.

Nico collapsed inside his cabin. This feeling, the nausea, the exhaustion - he almost felt like he  _ wanted _ it. It was familiar.He wasn’t happy, he never smiled or laughed.  _ This _ was who he was, curled up on the cold floor, alone. But there were still things missing. The pain, the hunger. His body trembled. It was used to it, and suddenly feeling good didn’t seem to feel like anything at all.

He remembered all the times he had told himself that he “deserved it”. To himself, constantly, the words echoing in his mind for the past few years.  _ You trusted him. That was your fault. _ He closed his eyes, and he was in Tartarus again, dragging himself along. Bloody, bruised,  _ you deserve it. You let him slip away. Isn’t he guilty, too? Shouldn’t he suffer, too? Shouldn’t everyone? Why me? _

He was crying now, silently, clutching his arms.

_ Because you deserve it. Everyone knows you’re a monster but you. They can see. That’s how they know.  _

It felt good, so good. This was what he needed, what he deserved. But it also wasn’t  _ everything _ . He felt restless. Something was missing.

Clumsily, he drew his sword, watching the remaining sunlight glide down the blade. No, this was too much. He left it on the floor and walked to the bathroom. A knife. Did he have a knife? No, he didn’t. Why would he have a knife? Something  _ sharp.  _ What did he have that was sharp? He sifted through his few possessions, scrambling to find something he could use. There was a bag, under the sink, filled with things from the camp store he had been given when he first arrived to camp. He grabbed it an spilled the remaining items onto the counter.  _ A razor. _ There was a razor. Why would he have needed a razor? It must have been a joke. After some struggling, he popped the blades out, but they were small. Would they really be enough? Nico pressed one against the back of his hand and slid it, stopping almost immediately with a startled hiss. A centimeter long line of blood formed on his skin. It  _ would _ work. He left the bright bathroom and fell against the back wall of the cabin, desperate. He held the blade to his wrist, then stopped.  _ Too obvious. What if someone saw? _

_ What if?  _  A voice in the back of his head echoed. He silenced it before it could continue, sliding off his jeans. There was less scar tissue on his thighs, anyways. They were smooth, pale canvases. He pressed the razor into his leg and slid. He could do better than that. It barely hurt. Again, harder. He watched his skin split and flood with blood.  _ His _ blood.  _ I deserve it. _ He fell into a delirious pattern. Press, slide, shudder, press, slide, shudder. More - he wanted to see his entire thigh - no, both of them - completely red. The first cuts began to congeal. He wiped the blood away and hissed. The air was burning him, and the cuts began bleeding again. He placed his palm flat against his thigh and dragged it across, leaning his head back against the wall and soaking in the pain. Blood was smeared on his legs, his hand. He added wiping to the routine, spreading the blood over his skin, not letting it harden. The pain was getting too much, but he was determined to push himself. He gritted his teeth, letting out a low moan.  _ Too far? Did I go too far? _ Wipe, press, slide, slam. Nico didn’t hear the knocks, but he did register the slamming. His heart raced. Caught? He was caught? Someone saw? Was that bad?  _ I’m dizzy. _ Jason. It was Jason. If Jason was here, why was there still knocking?

“Stop it,” Jason whispered frantically, grabbing Nico’s hands and forcing the blade from his fingers. No, someone else did that. Jason’s hands were on his shoulders. Piper?

“Go make him leave,” Jason said to Piper. She walked back to the door.

Jason put his hands around Nico’s face and pulled him into hi chest. Piper returned quickly. He was slowly regaining awareness, feeling more awake by the second, but he wished he wasn’t. He wanted to be numb and confused, unaccountable for his actions.

“Go see if there’s a first-aid kit in the bathroom,” Jason said. Piper left again.

“There isn’t anything.” She called from the bathroom.

“Then get one from the infirmary.”

Nico leaned into Jason, crying. He didn’t understand. Jason wrapped his arms around him, rocking him slightly.

“I don’t know why,” He choked. “I don’t know… I thought I was fine…”

“Shh…” Jason hugged him tighter. “It’s okay. Don’t worry.”

Piper returned eventually, and Jason was forced to release him.

“They aren’t deep, at least. I’ll wet a towel, you get the bandages ready.” Piper said, already moving away. When she returned, she cleaned his hand, then wiped the towel down his thigh -

Nico threw his head back against the wall, body tense, each of his cuts screaming. His mind went blank, but when he was back, Piper had dropped the towel and was chanting “Sorry.” Jason quickly lifted his leg and wrapped it. Piper went at the other thigh much slower, though the pain was only slower. Once he was bandaged, Jason got under one of his arms and help him stand. He limped with him a few feed to a bad and laid down.

“I’m sorry,” Nico whispered.

“Don’t worry.” Jason said, sitting down against the bed frame. 

“I didn’t want you to see.”

“I think it’s a good thing I did,” He said. “I’m not going to pretend I know what’s going on, but… I’m right here, Nico.”

Nico nodded, reaching out for his hand. Jason took it quickly, resting his head on the mattress. His eyes were red. How did Nico forget this? He closed his eyes. His thighs aches and his head was pounding. Nico fell asleep, and when he woke the next morning, Jason was still there, snoring against his bed. 

It would be fine.


	5. Hey Babe, Wanna Netflix-and-Discuss-Childhood-Trauma?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey, so obviously time got away from me and I didn't post the chapter like I wanted to. I actually don't have a great excuse - I got a new laptop for Christmas that can actually run half the games I own, so I've been spending most of my days watching horror documentaries and gaming. Luckily the threat of missing my Saturday deadline is enough to motivate me to write, so I did most of this in one sitting. Lots of time cuts. My friend introduced me to Ballyhoo! Think Will would like them?

Nico shifted, suddenly becoming aware of the pain in his legs. Someone was knocking. Piper had gotten out of the bed in front of him and moved to the door, rubbing her eyes.

“Oh, Piper. I assume Jason is here?”

Nico squinted. It was Chiron. _Right. They both missed curfew, and Piper has a cabin to run._

“Yes,” She began.

“May I ask what you two were doing?”

“Nico wasn’t feeling well. We didn’t mean to stay the night…”

“I see. I understand being concerned, just be sure that he gets to the infirmary if necessary. And try not to let this happen again.”

“We will. Sorry,”

“That’s quite alright.” He looked past her into the cabin. “Have Jason come see me when he wakes up.”

“Will do,”

He was gone after that, and Piper settled down next to Jason on the floor, looking over at Nico. 

“We _can_ take you to the infirmary, if you want.” She offered.

Nico shook his head. His throat hurt. “You should wake him up. I’ll be alright.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’ll be fine. I just need some time, I think.”

“...We’ll go. But I’ll be back later.”

"I'll try to get out for lunch,"

She shook Jason awake. He seemed too sleepy to argue about leaving, so she was able to lead him out the door. Nico waited. His stomach hurt. He needed to eat, but that wasn’t an option. He got out of bed and looked down at his bandages. The blood had soaked through in some spots, but he could tell they weren’t serious. He limped to the bathroom and drank from the sink (which was just as weird as he remembered it feeling, but it definitely had not been the first time he had to resort to drinking from a sink. At least it wasn’t a public bathroom this time) while the shower warmed up. He left the bandages on the sink and carefully entered the shower. His legs burned, but not nearly as bad as they had the night before. The small cuts had become scabs. He ran a hand over his thigh gently, amazed at the damage. It was so red - the color was so rich and deep and beautiful. And irreversible.

He wrapped his legs back up with fresh bandages, then tugged on the softest, loosest pair of jeans he owned. It hurt to walk, but it was just a pinching pain from his skin being pulled, and it wasn’t at all unbearable. He sat on his bed and reflected on everything that had happened the day before. The time he spent at the lake to falling asleep with Jason and Piper. Why _did_ he do it? He wasn’t sure. He had never hurt himself before. No, that wasn’t really true. He had, but not like this. He had skipped meals and overexerted himself, but it wasn’t the same as this.

Who had been knocking on the door last night? It was Will. Obviously, it had to be him - no one else would be that concerned. He closed his eyes. Will probably told Jason and Piper that he was acting strange. That’s why they checked on him. Piper must have used charmspeak to make him go away. Will surely would have come to see what was wrong, he was worrisome like that. He’d have to face him eventually, and tell him something. He didn’t want to lie, but he felt so… ashamed. He didn’t want to make him worry. But he didn’t want to lie. He couldn’t do that to him.

It was barely past breakfast. Nico had to busy himself somehow, so he started with making his bed, then the one Piper had slept in. Then he swept near the floor, eventually going ahead and sweeping the rest of the cabin, even though it wasn’t really dirty anywhere else. Then he figured he might as well clean the shower, and while he was there he wiped down the mirrors, then tidy up the mess on the counter. He took breaks occasionally to sit and plan his conversation with Will. No matter how he mapped it out, he couldn’t find a good way to explain _why_ , and he was bound to ask that. He was wiping dust from the bunks when there was a knock on his door. He had been cleaning and thinking for hours. Piper had come to check on him.

“Are you okay?” She asked immediately.

“Yeah. Is it lunch already?”

“You don’t have to. I can bring you a plate,’

“No, that’s fine. I want to go.”

He didn’t, really. He was afraid people would be able to look at him and tell what he’d done, but he felt like he had to go. He had to get back to normal as soon as he could.

Jason and Piper spoke with him quietly. Apparently, since they were both going to leave soon, Jason’s work was being picked up by someone else. He had some free time.

“That’s good,” Nico said

They both agreed.

After lunch, he walked with them a bit. He wanted to find Will - he  _had_ been at lunch - but he felt nervous. He wished he would just show up and drag him away like he normally did. Subconsciously (or maybe entirely consciously, on Jason and Piper’s part), they neared the infirmary. Kayla was outside as normal, flipping through a magazine.

“Hey, Nico.” She smiled.

"...Hey," 

“You seen Will?”

“No? Not since lunch.” 

“He’s in a mood, I think,” She scrunched up her face. "Wish he’d chill out. Think something happened?”

Nico didn’t know how to answer that. Something _did_ happen, but why would Will be angry? 

“I don’t know.” He said.

“Well, he’ll get over it, I guess.” She shrugged, looking back down at her magazine.

They continued walking. Once they were a fair distance away, Piper spoke.

“You should go find him.”

“I don’t know where to look,” Nico argued.

“Well, where would _you_ go if you wanted to be alone?”

“My cabin.”

She rolled her eyes. “He can’t be alone at _your_ cabin.”

Nico paused and looked around, his eyes falling on the forest. It was dangerous to go deeper in, but he doubted Will would wander out that far.

“Go talk to him.”

“You think he’s angry at me?”

“I think he’s _upset_ about _something_ ,” Piper said. “And I think you should talk to him about it.”

Nico looked between Jason and Piper then headed for the woods alone.

 

~~~

 

Will was easy enough to find. Yellow hair and a bright orange t-shirt wasn’t very effective camouflage. He was sitting on a fallen log, behind a thick cluster of trees. He looked up at him, then back at the ground, shoulders hunched. Nico hadn’t seen him tense like that very often.

“Uh, Will?” Nico eased down next to him, but he didn’t look back up.

“I’m sorry.”

“What? Why?” They were whispering, but Nico wasn’t sure why.

“I did something. Obviously. To upset you.”

Nico stared at him. “That’s not… what happened.”

“Then what? We were just talking, then suddenly you run off and… you didn’t want to see me…” Will took a shaky breath. “If… I don’t know, I guess I shouldn’t be the one upset. Could you just tell me what I did?”

“That’s _not_ what happened,”

“Then _what?_ ”

“I… I don’t know? I just _lost_ it,” Nico could feel everything beginning to spill out. “I was _fine_ , everything was _fine_ , but then I just thought… I think about everything that happened all the time - the Argo, Tartarus, Percy, _everything_ , but this time it just wouldn’t go _away_ ,”

He knew he was rambling, that he made no sense. Will didn’t know half of “everything”. But once he started he couldn’t stop. This wasn’t how he planned it.

“I had to get away, so I shadow travelled to my cabin. And after that I just _forgot_ … Who I _am_ now. I felt wrong, like I was missing something, and I had to get it back. Like it’s a part of me…”

“What?” Will wasn’t following at all.

Nico looked over to him, and teary-eyed, he just shook his head. He couldn’t articulate what happened, he didn’t really want to. He wanted this to be _over_ . He tensed his face, fighting back tears. _I’m not crying. Not here. Not over this._

Will was silent. What was he supposed to say? What did Nico want him to say?

“Y’know how…” Will took a deep breath. “Even when you’re too happy or angry, you cry? Because it’s an emotion, and you have to get it out of your system. It’s a distress response, when there’s too much happening at once. But it’s weird because it also just builds up... Everytime you _don’t_ cry, it’s almost like it’s added to the next time you do. Maybe that has something to do with it. You can be happy now, but you can’t just not be sad. Does that make sense?”

It did, somehow. Every time in the past few days he had thought about his past, he pushed it away. Of course it built up. They sat silently.

“I hate this.” Nico said suddenly. “I hate that it happened. And I can’t take it back.”

“So, what?” Will said. Nico stared at him, shocked. “You can’t do anything about it. It wasn’t avoidable. You have to get over it.”

“...Okay.”

He waited.

“Well, then,” Will stood. “I have an idea.”

“An idea?”

“We should talk. About everything. I mean, we _should_ talk to each other about stuff, you know?”

“Oh."  
“I mean, if you want. I can’t really talk about anything with my siblings. It feels weird. We’re not really that close. Maybe if it’s like that for you, with your friends… it’ll help?”

“... We can try.”

“Maybe tonight? After dinner? We can just chill in your cabin,” He offered. “We don’t even have to talk about that stuff. I’ll bring my laptop, we can watch a movie or something.”

“Won’t you miss curfew?”

“Not a big deal. And if worst comes to worst, I just gotta be back by breakfast to lead the line, so if I gotta stay over…”

“...Alright. Let’s do it.” Nico decided. “On one condition.”

“Oh?” Will said, amused.

“If and when we start talking, I want to hear about you first.”

“Deal.” Will smiled. “I _love_ talking about myself.”

“Of course you do.”

 

~~~

 

Nico told Jason he had talked to Will. There was an underlying tension, left over from the events of the night before, but he trusted it would fade over time.

“Thank you. For staying with me last night,” He said. “And, also, while I’m at it… for, uh, during the quest… everything that happened with Cupid,”

Jason was confused. “I didn’t do much, Nico.”

“Yeah, but you were worried. Piper said so… You’re…” Nico hesitated. “A good friend. Really.”

Nico had never seen Jason smile so wide. He hooked an arm around him and pulled him into a hug. “You sap. You’re a good friend, too.” He pulled away. “So, what’s going on with Will, exactly?”

“He wants to come over after dinner, to talk. Maybe.”

Jason tried to look serious, but his cheeks were still dented with a smile. “Curfew,” He reminded him.

“We’re not _planning_ on breaking it,”

“Tsk. I might have to supervise.”

“ _No_ .”

“Why not?” He pouted.

“I think it’s supposed to be personal. Like…”

“A heart-to-heart? About your deepest, inner emotions?”

“Yes.” He ignored his teasing. “Which is why you aren’t coming.”

“Fine, I get it. I hope it’s fun.”

“Yeah, me too.”

 

~~~

 

Nico waited in his cabin. He wasn’t sure what to do. He guessed that he should change into something more suitable for night. Then again, Will would be there. What if he was still fully dressed? Oh, whatever. It was his cabin. He could wear sweatpants if he wanted.

Will arrived, with a bag tucked under his arm. He was wearing a soft looking, bleach stained t-shirt and sweats.

“I got here with minimal witnesses,” He announced, looking around the cabin. “Okay… We need something comfy… Oh, I know,”

He walked to the far end of the cabin. Nico followed him.

“We did this a few times for movie nights. It’s like a pillow fort, but a million times better, because it’s _mattresses_. You ever build a pillow fort before?”

“Yeah…” Nico’s thoughts drifted back to his time at the Lotus Casino. He let his heart ache. “With my a sister, a few times.”

“So, you’re aware of how this works, even with our minimal architectural knowledge.” Will pulled a mattress off of one of the bunks and tossed it in the corner. “We’ll make it like a little house, and fill it with pillows, and it’ll be _great_ ,”

Will’s enthusiasm had a hint of humor to it, which made Nico doubt he actually thought that greatly of pillow forts. Maybe he was just trying to lighten the mood. He followed Will’s lead, pulling another mattress down and wedging it between the one of the floor and the wall. Will draped a sheet over the mattress-walls and pulled it over the frame of the nearest bunk.

“Perfect. Grab a blanket and some pillows.”

Once their fort was properly furnished, Nico crawled inside, letting Will follow him so he could position his laptop without either of them being in the way. It was comfortable, but kind of cramped. He was glad he wasn’t claustrophobic. Nico’s heart fluttered as Will settled in next to him. He leaned back, their shoulders brushing against each other. It was getting darker outside, which he could only tell by the light leaving the back of the cabin.

“Have you ever seen _Hairspray_ _?_  I figured a musical would be easy to follow,” Will said.

Nico shook his head. “The closest thing to a movie I think I've ever seen is that video Chiron plays for new campers.”

“Really? To be honest, I’m not that into pop-culture, though, so I can’t judge.”

Will didn’t talk during the movie, aside from the beginning when he half-yelled some of the lyrics to the first song, which Nico elbowed him for. Nico enjoyed it. It was unfamiliar, very confusing, but interesting. As far as he could tell, it was set a few decades back. He was behind on American history, and couldn’t place any of what was going on well.

“So?” Will grinned, sinking back into a pile of pillows once it was over.

“It was good.” Nico decided. He couldn’t even begin to formulate his questions, so he left it at that.

“It was _great_ , actually,” Will corrected him playfully.

They sat in comfortable silence, Nico becoming very aware of how awake he still felt.

“We should talk. Stupid stuff first,” He said. Will nodded and turned to face him.

“Okay. Ask anything,”

“Well… what’s your favorite color?”

“Easy. Green. But, like, not green-green. Blue-green. Like a really dark, vibrant kinda green.” Will answered. “What’s yours? _Please_ don’t say black,”

“It’s blue, actually. Like the ocean.” He said. “Okay… When were you born?”

“Sixteen years ago , minus a week and two days,” He said, matter-of-factly. “You don’t know your birth date, though, right? Probably the same year, though.”

“I know when I was born.” Nico said.

“Then _why_ did you say -”

“I’ll explain. But you… You have to tell me something first.”

“Oh. Oh…” Will understood. They were actually getting into it now. “How… Uh.. Heavy are we getting?”  
  
“What, you want me to scale it one-to-ten?”

“I don’t know…”

“It’s not really _heavy_ on its own. It’s just a weird secret I have. And it has to do with my family…”

“Okay. So, nothing too crazy…” Will paused, then seemed to decide on something. “I don’t know how this compares, but the first time my dad - well, the _only_ time he came to see me - he forgot my name.”

“... _Ouch_. Really?”

“Yeah. I don’t think he thought of me at all since I was born. It really bothered me at the time. Shit, it _still_ does. Like, you’re a fucking _god._  Couldn’t you at least bother to know my damn name?”

“Gods, that… Sucks.”

“Yep. So… Tell _your_ story.”

“Oh, gods. Okay. You’re probably not going to believe this…” Nico warned him. “...I was born in 1931.”

“...You what?”

“After my mother died… Dad took me and my sister to this place in the desert - the Lotus Casino. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it? Percy got stuck there once, too. You lose track of time there. I spent what barely felt like a week there, playing games and having fun with Bianca. Then, I leave, and suddenly it’s a whole different millenium.”

“That’s… insane.”

“It’s all real, though.”

“Wow… so you’re like… in your eighties.’

“ _No_ , I’m like fifteen. I’ve just been around for eighty years. I didn’t have eighty years worth of experiences. I have fifteen years worth of memories, and I look fifteen years old. I'm fifteen.”

“Wow. How many people know?”

“Well… I guess the Hunters knew, and anyone involved on the quest with Bianca. Maybe Percy and some others? I haven’t told many people, though.”

“Well, then…” Will leaned back. “Should I go again?”

“Yeah. Yeah, go ahead.”

“To be honest, I don’t have that much baggage. So, I guess I’ll just jump right into this…” Will cleared his throat “When I was ten… When I was ten, I had to be collected by the camp, because my mother… died, and I was going to end up in the foster system, so they scooped me up and vanished with me.

“My mom was a musician. She overdosed. I still don’t know if it was on purpose or not, but she was _miserable_. My dad not being around, her failing career, the addiction… I found her, and the bottle. Methylphenidate Hydrochloride,” He spat each syllable with disgusted clarity. “Ritalin. My prescribed Ritalin, for my ADHD, that I never took.”

Nico had heard of Ritalin. He didn’t know much about it, just that it was supposed to help people with ADHD. It didn’t do much to help demigods. And _gods_ , he _found_ her. Nico imagined little ten-year-old Will, waking up one morning, or maybe coming home for school one day, and throwing the door open to a corpse. He grabbed Will’s hand out of a reflexive need to comfort him. Will smiled, his eyes dry. He had come to terms with this. Nico felt embarrassed, but Will squeezed his hand and leaned back into the wall.

“Tell me about your sister,” He said. “What happened to her?”

Nico closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _This is it_ . He told him about leaving the Lotus, about her joining the hunt. How upset, how abandoned, how _robbed_ he felt - plucked down into the modern world, in a camp full of strangers, with not even his sister by his side. He told him about the promise he made with Percy, and how he broke it.

“I didn’t forgive him for a long time,” He said. “I knew… It wasn’t his fault. I knew he was a good person. It was just so easy to hate him. I had good reasons… I _had_ to hate him.”

“Reasons? What were the other reasons?”

Nico backtracked. “That’s enough for tonight,” He decided. He wasn’t sure why he felt the need to guard that information. Maybe it was just nervousness. left over from his past of beating down his feelings. He knew Will wouldn’t be revolted. How could he be? They were the children of gods, after all, and Will’s father himself had been known to love men. _Many_ men. Still, as if on instinct, he sealed the truth away.

“Fair. We dug pretty deep today,” Will said through a yawn. It was warm in the fort, and Nico was also beginning to feel drowsy. The rest of the cabin was bound to be cold, so neither of them were in much of a hurry to leave.

“Jason and Piper are leaving soon,” Nico said, mostly reminding himself aloud.

“Really? That sucks. There’s no one left from the crew here but you, huh?”

“Hedge is here, if that counts. Leo would be, too…” He wasn’t sure why he brought him up now.

  
“Nico…"

 

“I didn’t know him well. He was a clumsy idiot, but… He was clever, too, and so determined. I didn’t even know he was going to do it. That idiot…” Nico sniffed. “I wanted to get to know him, but I can’t now. It’s unfair, that _that’s_ the reason I feel sad. Everyone else actually lost a friend, but I just lost this image I had of him in my head, and I’ll never get to know who he really was.”

“I doubt anyone got to know him well,” Will said. “But we know enough, don’t we? He was willing to die, alone, for us. That says a lot about him.”

Nico thought. “That’s bullshit.”

“...I know. I don’t know what to say to make it better.”

“Me neither.” Nico paused. “I’m not going to let him be forgotten. Heroes die all the time. We tell their stories for a while, but then it’s over. I’m not letting anyone forget about him. For as long as I live, at the very least, I will make sure that no one forgets Leo Valdez.”

“I’m sure he’d appreciate that,” Will smiled reassuringly, then yawned again. “We should sleep soon, or breakfast’ll suck.”

“Yeah, soon…” Nico yawned and closed his eyes for a moment. In a few minutes, he’d pull himself out of the fort and get into his bed. In a few minutes....


	6. Still not Afraid of Needles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I had this chapter written out but hilariously I only had half of it, which is why it might seem pretty short. It's also inclusive of the OCs again, which in hindsight I don't really like (inserting too many 'important' OCs into a fanfiction always feels weird to me) but it helps to move the plot the way I need it to, so I hope it'll be forgiven.

Nico woke in the fort, sweaty and panicked. It had been a while since his last nightmare - maybe someone somewhere wanted to give him a break. That break was over now. He rolled over, burying his face in the sheets beside him, realizing with a startled jerk that they smelled like Will. He wasn’t there. _He must have left the night before._ No, that wasn’t right. The shower was running. Had Will slept over? He crawled out of the fort. It was barely light out, but he wasn’t tired enough to go back to sleep after that shot of adrenaline his dream-self gave him. His heart was racing. _Breathe_.

The shower cut off. Nico waited on his bed awkwardly until Will eventually emerged, dressed in fresh clothes with his hair still dripping wet. He smiled, meandering towards the front of the cabin where the larger windows were. Nico thought for a moment.

“Were you planning on staying here?” He asked.

Will shrugged. “If you didn’t make me leave, sure. You’re up early.”

“Woke up. Didn’t want to go back to sleep.” He omitted the part about his dreams.

“Ah.” He pulled back one of the curtains, looking out at the camp. “We’ll be getting our new schedules, huh?”

“Oh. Right.”

“Any idea what you want to do?”

“Not really.” Nico didn’t even know what activities there were.

“Archery blows. I think I’ll convince Chiron to let me drop it.”

“...It’s probably for the best.”

“Right?” He paused. “There’s not many year-rounders. I think you should take up a training class.”

“I _have_ to take classes, don’t I?”

“No, I mean you should be an instructor.”

“Absolutely not. No. Don’t even mention it to Chiron.”

“C’mon, you were great. We’re short on trainers,” Will tried to convince him. “It’ll be a huge help.”

Nico shook his head. “That’s an awful idea.”

“How could it possibly be that bad? You taught me just fine.” Will argued.

“That’s different.”

“Barely. Once you get started, it’ll be fine.”

“I won’t.”

“Fine. Whatever.”

“What, are you mad?”

“No.”

Nico sighed. “Will -”

“It’s fine. Do whatever.”

Nico waited. The atmosphere was suddenly tense. How did this happen so fast? _I should have just went with it. But I don’t want to._

“...I’m going to shower.” Nico finally said.

“Alright.”

When he was finished, Will was gone.

 

~~~

 

He found Jason and Piper already sitting at his table for breakfast.

“So, how’d it go?” Jason asked, chewing on a chunk of scrambled eggs. Piper raised an eyebrow.

“We talked. It was nice, actually.” Nico told him.

“Then why do you sound so bitter?”

Nico didn’t even realize that was his tone. “We had a disagreement.”

“You fought?”

“No. He just wanted me to do something and I didn’t want to and he got mad.”

Jason exchanged a surprised look with Piper. He lowered his voice.

“What did he want you to… _do_?”

“Huh? He just wanted me to teach some class, during the year.”

Jason breathed a sigh of relief and laughed. “Ooh. Okay.”

“What did you _think_ -”

“You shouldn’t let people force you to do things, but I think it’s worth thinking about,” Piper interjected, though it was clear she still had no idea what was going on.

Nico shrugged. He didn’t want to have this conversation again.

“What was going on? When was this?” Piper asked.

“Oh. Will came over last night.” Nico explained.

“To your cabin?” Piper frowned. “Did he get back late?”

“He slept over, actually.”

“You’re not supposed to do that, either,” Jason pointed out. “I really think I should’ve supervised this. You know, so a responsible adult was present.”

“It was fine,” Nico shook his head. “I don’t get what you’re so worried about.”

“You’re like…” Jason  mimed squishing something soft in his hands.

“What?”

“A _kid_. ike… a little brother. I have to shield you from things like… boys… that I don’t know well… and…” He waved vaguely at nothing in particular. Piper smiled, amused.

“Oh, _gods_ , Jason, shut _up_ ,”

“I’m just saying. I mean, I get it, he’s cute.”

“Jason, I’m going to _kill_ -”

Nico phased right through the table and fell to the floor with a yelp.

“Nico!” They both jumped up and rushed around the other side of the table.

“What happened?” Chiron called out to their side of the pavillion, noticing the commotion at Nico’s table.

“Nico went ghost -” Jason called back, helping him out from under the table. Nico stood up, annoyed and embarrassed. Jason grabbed him as if to ensure that he was solid, and Nico gave him a hard shove, then punched him in the arm for emphasis.

“You shouldn’t have teased him,” Piper scolded Jason.

“I guess we found out what happens when he gets embarrassed,” Jason laughed, not seeming at all apologetic. “I won’t tell anyone.”

“You know, Leo -” Piper’s smile turned strained. “He used to catch on fire, when he was nervous.”

“Did he?” Nico struggled to remember. “Oh. Right. I remember seeing that.”

A silence fell over the group. The rest of the campers had resumed their conversations.

“So… You and Will…” Piper began.

“Are friends? Can you two quit? I haven’t even _considered_ … Never _once_.”

“That’s alright. I was just… wondering. I get it.”

“I’d totally keep going on, but I don’t want to have to pull you from under the table again,” Jason said.

_Is breakfast almost over? I want out of this nightmare…_

 

~

 

Nico didn’t see Will for the rest of the day. He got swept up with Evan and Andrea after breakfast.

“Nico! What’s up? Haven’t seen you around,” Evan led him through some weird handshake.

“I don’t get out much,” Nico shrugged.

“You should hang with us,” Andrea said.

“Sure. What are you guys doing?”

Andrea blanked. She looked to Evan for help.

“We just hang out? Wander around the camp…” He offered.

“We don’t really do much. I don’t know. It _feels_ like we’re always super busy,”

“Good enough for me.”

“Nice.”

They stood by the dining pavilion, talking for a bit. Something about the sheer enthusiasm Andrea showed while she talked made it fun. She was so giggly and carefree, even Nico found himself laughing. She drug them all to the arena where Evan spent a while showing Nico how to throw knives. Evan was pretty good at it. Nico, not so much.

“We should do the wall. Ooh, then after that, let’s picnic.” Andrea suggested.

“Picnic?” Nico asked.

“She nicked one of the plates from the pavillion a while back, so sometimes we just hang out in the woods for lunch.” Evan explained. “Unless you wanted to eat with your friends?”

“They’ll live.”

“Yeah, they will.”

They walked towards the wall, Nico wondering the back of his head how they could be climbing it for fun. Suddenly, as they neared the bathrooms, Evan whisper-yelled, “Shit, hide!” and drug them both into the boy’s bathroom.

“What, why?” Nico asked, surprised.

“Girls from the Athena cabin. They teach Greek history,” Evan made a face. “We always end up skipping their lessons, and they always end up bitching about it.”

“Oh.”

“It’s so boring. And classes are just a formality, anyways,” Andrea complained.

“Screw the wall, let’s just hide out here,” Evan lifted himself up onto the counter beside a sink.

“We’re going to hang out? In the bathroom?”

“Hold on, I got an idea,” Andrea grabbed Evan’s bag. Nico had barely registered that he had one, but now that he thought of it, he always had its thin straps strung over his shoulder. “You have the set, right? And some ambrosia…”

“Oh, yeah. What did you want done?”

“What? What’s going on?” Nico asked.

“Piercings,” Andrea pulled out a plastic container filled with neat little rows of metal. “The ambrosia makes it heal enough to take them out right away. Just makes it easier.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?”

“You just have a lil crumb,” She said. “What should I do? Oh, Nico, did you want one?”

“A… piercing?”

“Sure! Evan’s great at them. Here, stand closer to the mirror,” Andrea placed the first container on the counter and fished out a bag of ambrosia and a plastic cup filled with balls and rings. She plucked a ring out and handed it to Evan, who scooted closer to Nico.

“You don’t have to,” Evan told him. “It’s easy, though. Barely leaves a scar if you change your mind, too. It’ll just heal right up if you leave it out long enough.”

He unclipped the ring and held it over his brow so it was pinching the skin. “Could do one here,” He said, then he brought it down to his nose, holding it in front of one of his nostrils, “Or here. Or your septum, if you want. That’s this bit in the middle,” He motioned with a finger. “Or here. Ooh, that looks _nice_ ,” He had clipped it over the left side of his bottom lip, where it was snug enough to stay in place on its own. He moved his hand back so Nico could see it better.

“It’ll end up looking like that, more or less.” Evan said. Andrea looked up.

“Oh, that looks cool!”

“Are you sure?” Nico tilted his head. It was pretty cool. “I don’t know how the others will feel about this. What am I supposed to tell them when I suddenly have a piercing?”

“Meh. Just don’t tell them we gave it to you.” Andrea shrugged. “Say you got it done at a shop.”

“No way. Will would notice right away if it was healed, and I didn’t have the time or will to get it done before now.”

“Then take it out when you’re around them. Or just don’t tell who did it. It’s just a piercing. As long as Chiron doesn’t find out we’re doing this, it’s not a huge deal.”

“Only if you want it done, though.” Evan reminded him.

Nico paused, staring at himself in the mirror.

“I like it. I’ll figure something out later. It’s not a big deal.”

That’s the spirit!” Andrea plucked the ring off and handed evan the box of needles while she dug something else out from the container.

“This’ll hurt a bit,” Evan warned him. The process was over quickly, and it really didn’t hurt much. Nico’s eyes watered a bit, but then it was over.

“This part hurts more.” Evan advised, taking a small metal stud from Andrea and fishing it into the hole. Nico clenched his fist, watching droplets of blood splatter on the counter. Someone walked in - a boy Nico didn’t recognize.

“Snitches get stitches!” Andrea jokingly threatened him. He turned around and left, startled.

“Gods, Andrea,” Evan screwed the back on the stud and Andrea dropped a crumb of ambrosia into Nico’s mouth. He swallowed, his body immediately growing feverishly hot. Nico fanned himself, taking quick, short breaths. He hoped, too late, that they were right about the ambrosia - if not, he would burn to a crisp. Evan helped him to the floor. In a few minutes, the heat passed. Andrea pulled on his arm, telling him to get back up.

“That’s it?” Nco asked, stilling feeling a bit wobbly and overheated.

“Yeah. Pick out a ring,” Evan spilled the contents of the container onto the bag of ambrosia, presumably to protect them from whatever bacteria on the counter. He used a bit of his shirt to wipe the blood of the sink, then ran some water over it, leaving a large wet spot on the fabric. Nico picked up a silver ring and squinted at the engravings. They were little roses, almost impossible to see from more than a foot away.

“Cute. So, keep the stud in for the rest of the day, and sleep with it in, too, just in case. That first layer of skin might grow back if you don’t wear it for a bit, but it shouldn’t hurt to pop anything through. If it seems infected or starts bleeding or something, tell me and I’ll look at it, but it should be fine.” Evan patted him on the back. “Congrats.”

“Congrats!” Andrea added through a mouthful of a granola bar she had pulled from Evan’s bag.

Nico glanced at himself in the mirror again, absently moving the back of the stud around with his tongue. Something about the event had been satisfying. He had done something he had never considered doing before. This small physical alteration didn’t really mean anything, but it still felt good. He turned his back on his reflection, leaning on the counter, and resumed a conversation with Evan and Andrea. This was shaping up to be a good day.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I accidentally posted this before I put the notes in and gave it a title so that's very cool. I don't have much to say anyways; I ran out of pre-written chapters so I'll be doing a lot of improv. I have to check the timeline eventually to make sure things are mostly in order. Uploads should still be according to schedule, though.

Nico pulled himself out of bed early the next day after a night of tossing and turning. The cabin was cold - something he had gotten used to and could deal with when he wasn't already waking up several times a night due to nightmares. Before, he could sleep all night tucked tight into his blanket, kept warm by his own body heat trapped in the sheets. But every time he woke, his covers would be thrown about, his legs dangling off the side of the bed, his knuckles touching the floor... and it would take that much longer to fall back asleep. It was a routine he got used to by the end of the night: wake up in a panic, sit up in bed, wait until your heart stops beating so fast, realize how cold it is, throw your blanket back over you, and wait until you're tired enough to fall asleep. He missed having Will there, even though they had only slept together that one night. Between his added heat and the trapped air of the fort - which was barely deconstructed in the corner of the cabin - he was kept actually warm throughout the night. But now there was no Will, only an empty, chilled building that would only get colder throughout the year. He considered what it would be like during the winter and shivered. 

The event the day before with Evan and Andrea had given him a bit of an attitude boost. He felt more confident in his ability to do things he couldn't do in the years before. Namely, socialize. This confidence was important since he was going to have to confront Will today, because the gods knew he wasn't going to seek Nico out himself. He was beginning to get a grip on how Will Solace operated, and he knew for certain one thing that pissed him off about the boy. Everything is personal. It's all about him. He had a shit idea, sure, but then it was  _his_ idea, which meant that Nico had said  _Will_ was shit. Except he didn't. It was the same as when Will got all worked up about the night of Nico's ill-timed mental breakdown. He immediately assumed it was this doomsday scenario where he did something  _awful_ and suddenly Nico hated him for it and there was no point in asking what he did or trying to fix it, because he had already done it. And if Will wasn't willing to figure out what he (supposedly) did wrong and fix it when Nico was the one that had (supposedly) suffered for it, then he surely wasn't going to tell Nico what  _he_ (supposedly) did wrong. There was no chance. And, yeah, Nico figured Will didn't hate him for it. He imagined that Will was sulking in his cabin, wondering how he was supposed to keep being friends with someone he couldn't confront. Well, it was a good thing the New Nico was so forward. He wasn't going to wait to be confronted. He was going to give Will a piece of his mind.

That's why when, eventually, the sun came up, he immediately headed down to the infirmary. Kayla wasn't out front, instead she was inside doing inventory as she had the day they met. She glanced over at him, smiling gently. 

"Will. Visitor." She said cheerfully, not looking behind her. 

"Huh?" He walked a few feet closer, into Nico's line of sight, and his eyes went wide. 

"Doctor Solace," He nodded with fake sincerity, and Kayla snorted. "I'm here for my weigh-in."

"...Huh?"

"You asked me to come in every week? It's only been six days, but it's a Monday. I thought it'd be easier to keep track of it that way."

"...Oh. Right, yeah, come on back," Will was obviously flustered as he led him to the check-up room. Somehow, there were  _memories_ here, even though it hadn't been that long since he had first entered the infirmary. Once Will had closed the door, Nico stepped on the scale. Will noted the number and jotted it down on a piece of paper, presumably to add to his file or something of that nature later. Nico plopped down in one of the chairs.

"You can't keep doing this." 

"Doing what?" Will feigned ignorance, staring at the clipboard with nothing on it but a blank sheet of paper with a three-digit number scribbled on it. 

"Every time anything happens, you go off on your own and don't actually do anything about it. You took so much initiative to make me be your friend, but you abandon me at any sign of trouble? That's not very fair."

Will grumbled an ashamed  _sorry_.

"You don't need to feel sorry. You need to understand what I'm saying.  _Do_ you understand?"

"...I don't think so."

"For starters, why were you mad?"

"Because you didn't want to listen to me." Will said. "It made me feel like you didn't care what I think."

"Good. Now I know for sure why you were mad. And now I can say, fuck you, I do care what you think, I just thought it was a shit idea."

"Fuck you."

"No, fuck you."

"How is this helping?"

"We're communicating." Nico shrugged. "I feel like this is better than you avoiding me."

"Right. Because this is really fun."

Nico thought about what to say for a few seconds. "I'm sorry. I should have told you why I didn't want to do it instead of shutting you down."

Will was silent for a while. "...I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have pushed you."

"You are kind of pushy."

"I get that a lot."

"I know."

"But, why didn't you want to be a trainer?"

"It just makes me uncomfortable to think about. I know I'm not that old, but a lot of the kids here are younger than me. And the younger ones are year-round, because they don't have anywhere to go home to. Which means I'd be training a bunch of kids that are half my age, and I don't want them to look up at me and think that I'm some kind of role model. I'm not exactly hero material. I don't think I would be able to influence them well."

"And you're not scared of like... freaking them out or anything?"

"What, you think I'm freaky?"

"No!" Will panicked. "No, I just mean - if I were you, I might've... thought that..."

"You're not me. You're Will. Stop assuming things about me and start asking. That's a nasty habit you have."

"...I know. Okay. I'm going to try."

"Seriously."

" _Seriously_. I promise. When I get on your nerves, I want it to be out of my own free will. Not because of some stupid issue I have with communication or whatever."

"You could stop being annoying altogether, actually. It wouldn't hurt."

"Nah. Being annoying is probably about 70% of my personality."

"What's the other 30%? Being cocky and stubborn?"

"You're the stubborn one."

"You're  _both_ stubborn, actually," Kayla's voice was muffled by the door. She swung it open and sifted through one of the cabinets, pulling out a folder and slamming it shut with her hip before leaving. 

"Alright. We're both stubborn." Will relented. "The other 30% is being talented and endearing."

"I don't think those are personality traits."

"But am I wrong?"

"I've yet to see you be talented  _or_ endearing." 

"I'll show you one of these days." 

"I'll be waiting."

"I'm serious."

"Sure."

Will leaned back on the door behind him (the door to the room where Nico had stayed, which, in his mind, was essentially the point where "it all began") and took a deep breath, staring into the ceiling. That leisure and calm was back; he looked peaceful. He really showed his emotions through every inch of his body. Nico wondered if he did the same. He didn't think he ever  _looked_ at peace. He wasn't sure if he even ever felt that way.

"Can I come over again tonight?" Will finally asked.

"You shouldn't break curfew that often. You're a counselor." Nico pointed out.

"Fine, fine. I just wonder what we could do other than, y'know, argue." 

"I don't know. We'll probably end up training together more during the year."

"Yeah, but that doesn't start for another week or so," Will said. "Don't you have any hobbies?"

"No."

"You gotta."

"Do  _you_ even have any?"

"Sure. I like to read. As one of the lucky few without dyslexia, I consider it my duty."

"Read what?"

"Whatever I can find. Which is mostly historical stuff. Medical books. That sort of thing,"

"Sounds boring."

"Probably. You have to do  _something_ , though. You can't have been this serious all your life."

That was true. When he was younger, he had his Mythomagic cards to occupy him, but he'd long since grown out of those (okay, maybe not entirely, but it wasn't like he had anyone to play with). Between training and doing miscellaneous tasks for his father, though, there was one thing he had picked up to pass time with.

"I used to draw," He said.

"Used to?"

"I've been busy. Saving the world is time-consuming. I dropped it a while ago. Gods know where my sketchbook even is."

It was his stepmother who had taught him, strangely enough. He was afraid Persephone would hate him, but she treated him almost like a son. Maybe it was because he was born so long ago she had forgiven his father, or maybe she just realized Nico himself wasn't the one at fault. Either way, she guided him through the delicacy of art. He drew flowers, mostly. When he could replicate single ones well, he would draw bouquets. Then he began to be able to sketch them from memory. At some point after that, he taught himself how to draw buildings and streets and the people that walked through them. He wasn't sure if he was passionate, exactly, but it was fun. Organized. There was no way to fail if he could never do it perfectly to begin with. And it was a distraction, something occupy his mind with. There was always something new to see, and if there was something new to see, there was something new to draw.

"You should pick it back up," Will suggested.

"I guess. It's not exactly a group activity, though. And neither is reading."

"That's true. Still."

Nico shrugged. He guessed it wouldn't hurt to give it a try again.

"There's not much to do nowadays. It's weird... I'm used to being busy when I'm at camp," Will said.

"We're recovering from a war. Things will get back to normal soon."

"But I want everything back to normal  _now_ ," Will whined.

"There's no point. Summer's almost over."

"But I'm  _bored_. Really, seriously bored. There's not even any point in hanging out here anymore," 

"Then let's go somewhere else."

"The whole camp's this boring." He argued.

"We could train. I need to start using my powers again eventually."

"Are you sure? It hasn't been that long since you got back..."

Nico nodded. "I can manage. I won't be raising an army of the undead or anything."

"If you say so. Just don't push yourself."

After some debating, they decided to head into the forest. Nico didn't want to disturb anyone that might be in the arena, and if he damaged the floor there, it wouldn't be very easy to fix. It was smooth, dry, dusty dirt. Opening fissures in the ground would leave it looking scarred, if he could even close them at all. 

On their way there, Evan and Andrea wandered past. Andrea stopped for a moment, wordlessly turning Nico away from her as Will watched, perplexed. Nico felt a slight tug as she pulled at his hair.

"If you're not gonna cut it, at least tie it back. It's a safety hazard," She told him, jogging away to catch up with Evan immediately after.

Nico reached back, his fingertips brushing against his hair. It was pulled back into a loose bun with some kind of hair tie. He looked at Will, who shrugged.

"It looks better out of your face." 

"I've been meaning to get it cut..."

"Mine, too," Will said, pulling at a lock of wavy hair. Nico thought it would be a shame to cut it. It looked nice. He said nothing. "There's a girl I'm friends with in the Aphrodite cabin who's _amazing_ with hair. She's leaving for school, though. We've got to go soon,"

"Oh."

Will resumed walking, staring at something in the distance and humming softly to himself. He seemed so content, as though in his world, everything was perfect.

Nico supposed he had to practice for a long time to make it seem that way.

 

~~~

 

He and Will found a comfortable place to sit and began. Nico found it extremely to reanimate animals that lived in the forest. Plenty of things had died there, and they didn't need to be brought up from the Underworld. Still, after raising a few skeletal squirrels, he was feeling it. He wasn't tired yet, but he could tell it took a dent out of his energy. He used to be able to raise full corpses without feeling a thing. He shared this with Will.

"You'll just have to work your way back up to it, I guess. You shouldn't need to raise the dead anytime soon, anyways."

"Hopefully not. I'm not sure I could manage."

"I guess that shadow-travel stuff is out of the question?"

Nico's stomach dropped as he recalled the last time he used it. He was still accurate, which was good - it took him a long time to be able to shadow-travel with any amount of accuracy - but it took way too much out of him. He couldn't train with that yet. 

"...Yeah. It'll be a while," He agreed.

"That's fine, too. Everything's fine." 

 _Everything's fine_ _._ It really did feel that way. Something about Will was so reassuring, especially now, and Nico wasn't sure if it had something to do with their conversation or if he had just missed this about Will before. Nico found himself staring at Will as he watched the squirrels run and jump around rocks and trees. That soft look in his eyes, the way his lips were always just slightly open like he was just waiting to say something of comfort at a moment's notice. A gust of wind blew through the forest, weaving through his hair, and with a dull clattering, one of the skeletal squirrels fell apart into a pile of bones. Nico snapped back into focus, turning away quickly as Will looked to him, confused. 

"I think I'll try a fox, now," He said quickly, dismantling the remaining squirrels before Will could question what had made him lose focus. He spent the rest of their time together that day acutely aware of his desire to glance over again, having to continuously remind himself that, as easy as it was to look at Will Solace, it took great force of will to look away. 

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a dream last weekend that I'm working on developing into an original work, so I spent most of the week writing that. I was planning on waking up super early today to write this but I uhhh slept for twelve hours for no reason? I don't know what happened. My dream was VERY long. Anyways, that's why it might seem sort of short, but I really just need to suck it up and sit down and figure out the canon timeline so I can figure out when a certain chapter is going to come into effect. Really sorry if these are kind of dry, it's hard to put plot in when you're lazy and don't want to figure out when plot is. Either way, I hope it's at least readable.

"April, this is Nico," Will introduced him. Piper caught Nico's eye when he walked in, waving briefly then returning to her conversation when she realized he wasn't waking towards her. 

"Oh, of course. What's up?" 

The boys were silent. Nico felt  _very_ uncomfortable. Nico was glad the cabin was mostly empty. He had never had to deal with any children of Aphrodite but Piper herself, and she wasn't much at all like her siblings. Sure, she was pretty - he could tell that much, and they were _all_  very attractive. But she didn't have that constantly smooth, flirtatious way of speaking that everyone else did. Not that he had really ever talked to her siblings, but he had watched others trip over their short conversations with them, and he doubted he would be much better. They seemed to enjoy the flustered reaction, or maybe they were just naturally very sociable; either way, they were always seeking out people to talk to. April didn't seem to be like that though. Then again, he supposed he wouldn't be too tripped up over a girl.

Nico caught Will making some sort of motion out of the corner of his eye. April seemed to understand immediately.

"Oh, thank the gods. You really need a cut. Come back here," She stood swiftly and led them into the bathroom, pulled a stool from the corner and a bag from a cabinet. Will leaned back against the counter as Nico took his presumed place on the stool.

"Your hair's nice. It'll be good to get it trimmed, yeah?" She commented, beginning to wet his hair down with a spray bottle.

"Uh... I guess."

"The texture's fine," She continued. "Not too dry or anything, no split ends... Let's see..."

She got to work immediately, not talking much. On occasion she'd cup a hand under his chin and gently move his head, which sent a shiver down his spine each time. He felt like something was just  _wrong_ about him being there. The bathroom was so similar to the one in his own's cabin that the differences made him uneasy. Makeup smudges on the sink. Scruff marks on the floor. Streaks and fingerprints on the mirrors. It felt occupied, whereas his cabin's bathroom felt empty. It was strange. 

April was done surprisingly quickly. She had taken inches off inches of his hair, making him feel more... boyish? He wasn't sure if that would make sense to anyone but him. It was just that he was looking in the mirror, and seeing this surprisingly normal looking boy staring back at him. And it was him, he was the normal looking boy, and it felt great.

"There. That's better, isn't it?" She stood back with her hands on her hips. "Will, did you want a trim?"

"Yeah, just to hold me a little longer. I don't like having other people cut my hair." He explained.

"At least if it ends up looking gross, you'll only have to live with it for a few months. You can always call me if it's an emergency, though. I'll make time for you. I can't let Will Solace walk around with ugly hair."

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." 

Nico took Will's place, watching April work on his hair. She seemed reluctant to cut it. Nico would be, too. It looked perfect. When she was done, she sighed at the hair-coated floor.

"I'll have to sweep this up, now. You two get going."

"Alright. Thanks," Will led him out of the cabin quickly. As the exited, they saw that Piper and the sibling she was speaking with were both gone. They were both silent for a bit, until they were a few yards out of the door.

"...It feels like it's been years since I've had an actual haircut," Nico commented. "It probably has been."

"You look good. I mean, the haircut does." Will offered.

"O-oh... Thanks." He wasn't used to receiving compliments. 

"Yeah... Anyways - hey, isn't that Andrea?" He said suddenly, pointing to one of the other cabins. It took Nico a second to realize he wasn't pointing at the crowd of people in front of the cabin, but rather the girl crawling down from the roof. It was her, alright. They approached the crowd, seeming to catch the middle of a conversation she was having with a boy.

"Slow your roll, dude. I was just getting my discus." She said after releasing her grip on the lowest part of the roof and landing on the ground, seemingly not bothered by the fall.

"You can't just climb on the cabin like that! It's dangerous!" The boy argued. 

"What, you gonna fight me about it?" 

"I will!" A girl Nico recognized as being from the Ares cabin volunteered. 

"Oh, you're  _on_ ," Andrea dropped her toy and stomped towards her, the crowd parting to form a circle around the girls. 

"Andrea, for  _fuck's sake_ _!_ " The boy continued his protests. Nico didn't expect the two girls to actually start fighting, but they did - laughing like the violence was fun. Will hesitated.

"As a counselor, I want to get involved, but as a fifteen-year-old boy... No." He sighed, then cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Andrea! Stop that! Break it up, you two!"

"Suck it, Solace!" She yelled back, almost breathless.

Will shrugged. "I tried."

"...Does this happen often?" Nico asked.

"Andrea is kind of explosive, so... yeah. Evan keeps her in check somewhat. Wonder where he is."

"Do we just wait for them to stop?"

"Or we could wait until Chiron breaks it up, but it looks like he's not around so... I guess we could just... leave..."

"Yeah... let's just leave."

"Wonder if anything's happening at the infirmary."

"Doubt it."

"Might as well check?"

They did check, and nothing was happening (until the aforementioned Ares girl came in with a broken nose) but Nico thought that was just as fine, even when he got talked into helping to clean. Because somehow, just being there with Will made him happy. He was content, distracted - it felt great. He was beginning to notice a slight shift in how he felt with Will opposed to his other friends. It was something sort of vague; it just felt a little different, the degree and type of happiness wasn't the same as it was with Jason or Piper. Jason and Piper felt familiar, almost like family at this point. He felt a constant safeness, like he could tell them almost anything and they would listen. With Will, he still felt safe, but it was more like he could count on Will to be there. There were things he wanted to keep from Will; the dirty, ugly things about himself that he tried his best to hide. He wanted to show him his best. But at the same time, he felt like if he ever did break down in front of him again, he would be perfect support. There was something different about him for sure. Nico just wasn't sure why he felt that way yet.  


	9. Sunflowers Stand for Loyalty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I finally took like five seconds to read the Leo Valdez page on the wiki which changes plans slightly and now I'm going to start trying to. move this. somewhere.  
> I'll be honest, I didn't have a plot thought out at first; I wrote the first few chapters in a week and hoped after the initial events took place I'd think of something. I'm considering tapering it off with smaller entries spanning over more time (so less chapters about just one day and more about a week or a month) to finish everything off. Because I suck. My personal projects are being neglected as well (I have a sick case of writer's block) so this isn't the only thing getting neglect. I just can't think of anything useful to write. Also, I really wish I reread the series or did some research beforehand- I have so many plot inconsistencies. It's honestly a wonder anyone is reading this (how come no one ever mentions the infirmary is in the Big House??)

In the days following, Nico split his time between Jason and Piper and Will, with the occasional appearance of Evan and Andrea. As summer came to a close, more and more campers left to get ready for the school year, with the deadline for summer campers approaching. Jason and Piper planned to leave the next day and travel to New Rome, still having plenty of time to stop for a visit before heading to Piper's for school. Nico was nervous about the year, but tried his best to reassure himself. He had Will now, even if everyone else was gone. He wouldn't be alone. And this was something he'd  _have_ to do. He had no choice. He decided he was staying.

The morning before Jason and Piper's departure, however, Nico was dragged out of bed. Jason was pulling him towards the Big House.

"Hurry up," He said. "You need to see this."

"Let me get dressed -" Nico protested, aware that he had slept was breakfast and was the only person in camp still in his pajamas. Jason persisted, though, and soon they were forcing their way through a crowd of people into the building. Chiron and Piper were waiting inside. He heard Coach Hedge talking excitedly in another room.

Piper wordlessly handed him something - some type of weird scroll. He held it, confused and annoyed until it came to life. A hologram glowed on its surface, a projection of a familiar boy.

Leo was safe. He was coming home.

 

~~~

 

The message was simple enough. Leo had survived and was with Festus and Calypso, lost in the Mediterranean.  Unfortunately, that meant it would be a while before he got back. Between the monsters and general chaos of the ocean, it would be difficult finding his way back to camp. Still, it was good news. Jason and Piper talked with Nico inside his cabin. Will eventually showed up, too, though he seemed hesitant to intrude. Nico waved him in as Jason wrapped up and Iris Message with the other camp.

"Hey. Heard the good news."

"Should've expected this much. There's no way Leo would just lay down and die," Jason said.

"He's not out of the woods yet. He's in a nasty position right now." Nico pointed out.

"He has a fire-breathing dragon and a magic tool belt. He'll be fine."

"And he's an idiot."

"Woah, what happened to all that sentimentality from before?" Will joked. 

Nico groaned, sinking his face into his hands. "Gods  _damn_ it. At least I didn't take an oath on the Styx."

"Uh, what?" Piper asked. Neither she nor Jason had been present that night, and neither of the boys told them about it.

"If you can't keep a promise to yourself, who  _can_ you keep it to?" Will continued, ignoring Piper.

"It was more to him than anything."

"Then you should ask him if you have to keep it." Will decided.

"No. That'd be way too awkward. And I already know he'd tell me to."

Jason waved to Nico. "Hello? We'd like in, please."

"Nico promised -"

"Shut up," Nico cut him off. "I promised to... honor his memory."

" _No one will forget Leo Valdez,_ " Will whispered through a smile.

"It was an emotional night," Nico grumbled, embarrassed.

"That's... really sweet," Piper offered.

"But you two didn't seem close." Jason said.

"We weren't. That's why. I didn't get to know him at all. Won't have to worry about  _that_ now."

"Yeah. Once he gets back, you'll get to know him for sure. You're the only one from the Argo that'll still be here." Piper said. "I think you'll get along. He's just kind of annoying."

"Nico's annoying too," Will said. 

Nico ignored him. "You guys... are you still leaving tomorrow?" 

Jason and Piper looked at each other, surprised. 

"We should stay right? In case he needs help," Piper said.

"Yeah. We should stay here to welcome him if he gets back soon. He could turn up at any time... maybe stay another week?" Jason suggested.

"We have time before school starts. We can stay a week and move out visit to New Rome."

"Maybe we could even start a search party?"

Nico shook his head. "Then you'd just be a bigger target."

"What should we do then?" She asked.

"We'll just have to wait. Try and track his position." Jason said.

With that, the conversation died down. There was a kind of finality to it. Leo was back, so of course they'd stay. And if they were staying, they'd have to do something - so they would try and track him down. Figure out where he is. Keep tabs on him. That was that. 

"You guys ever wonder about, like," Everyone looked up at Andrea, who had barged in unannounced and uninvited. "if you took an oath on the Styx, but it was, like, paradoxical?"

" _I vow to never keep a vow,_ " Evan elaborated from behind her.

"So, by not breaking it immediately, you've broken the vow to break the vow. But, then, the vow is broken, so you've kept it. But then you've broken it again by keeping it. What happens then?"

"My father would personally descend for the heavens and slap you," Jason said.

"I'm sorry, who is this?" Piper asked.

"Andrea. And Evan." Nico explained.

"We heard the news and came to congratulate you." Evan said. "Congrats."

With that they were gone, as quickly as they came. Piper and Jason stuck around for a bit, then decided to leave. They would need to talk to Chiron, and make preparations to stay an extra week.

"It'll be nice to see Leo again." Will mentioned after the others left.

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

Nico glanced over, catching a glimpse of his sad expression before it vanished. He paused, hesitant.

"I found something in my cabin last night, after dinner," He mentioned, reaching down under his bed and pulling out a simple black leather-bound book. A pouch with his materials - a range of pencils, sticks of graphite, pens, and erasers - slid around on its surface and he set it on his lap. Will lit up.

"How'd it get here?" He asked.

"Dad must've sent it up. Or had it delivered from somewhere else."

"Can I see?"

Nico popped open the book. As he flipped through it, he felt compelled to trace the delicate flowers with his fingers, but restrained himself. Many of the pages had been treated to not smudge, but he didn't want to risk damaging them.

"They're beautiful..." Will leaned in closer, the front of his shoulder pressing into Nico's back. His heart fluttered.

"Oh... thanks." He muttered.

"Did you ever learn about that, like, flower language stuff?"

"Huh? Oh, like symbolism? Kinda," Nico remembered it didn't quite stick. "Some of the colors. Red is for love, yellow... friendship or happiness, sometimes,"

"Sometimes?"

"A lot of yellow flowers stood for things like 'unrequited love' or 'melancholy' I think. Sunflowers stand for endurance, though. Of relationships? Or was it commitment?"

"I like sunflowers," Will mentioned.

Nico noted that. "White lilies stand for purity, black flowers generally mean death... spider lilies - they don't grow here, but they're cool. Blood and rebirth and death and whatnot. Kind of like poppies, they're a flower associated with the Underworld."

"Spider lily?"

"Red ones, I mean. I'm not sure if the white ones mean anything. Life, maybe? They look like this," He searched quickly for the page.

"Wow. And they're red?" Will asked.

"A really vibrant red. They grow in fields."

"Cool. I only know, like, roses mean love."

"Mini roses. Red ones," Nico corrected him.

"Oh, how could I forget."

"And carnations. Red carnations..." 

"Are you sure red isn't your favorite color?"

"Yes. I just remember those flowers because they're common and the spider lily because it's not. I don't remember what daisies or anything mean."

"And your step-mom taught you this?" Will asked.

"She would mention little things sometimes, yes. If I was drawing a certain flower, she'd tell me what it stood for." Nico recalled.

"That's cool."

"Yeah."

There was silence. Will leaned back away from Nico and sighed. "I guess I should go check on my cabin. See ya,"

"Oh. Okay," Nico watched as he left, staring at the closed door and sitting blankly in total silence. After a moment, he flipped to the back of the book and reached for the zipper of his bag. He sat back against the wall and let the familiar routine take him over as he took a pencil and relaxed his hand, adding to the many swirling marks on the paper backing. Once he had relaxed his hand enough, he flipped back to the first blank page after his past pictures - each one bringing back a memory of some time or place he had sketched them in - and began to draw. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: I just realized I left in the undeveloped joke dialogue (the bit where Piper is supposed to just act like she doesn't know who Evan/Andrea are) and didn't actually... finish it... and just put it in as is. I didn't realize until I reviewed the handwritten chapter and saw I still had the note written out to add to it. So, whoops. I'm not going to fix it right this second, but... whoops.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to go ahead and wrap this up next chapter (might get published during the week since I don't have any reason to hold it until Saturday if I finish it). That said, if I do write another fic in the future I'll probably plan it out better (and if you have any kinda prompts you wanna see or something you can shoot 'em at me. I have a sideblog I'll be polishing up, dionysusdearest.tumblr.com, which will be mythology/fandom/writing based, but I don't know how active it will be. Either way, send stuff in the comments or there or whatever you'd like if you wanna see anything; I'd like to write more)  
> ALSO if anyone was wondering about the underage drinking tag, it's because I had a chapter idea in mind way back when I first started and I scrapped it (it was supposed to take place immediately after the first Evan/Andrea encounter) and I forgot to take it out. So, yeah. My bad.

Piper and Jason arranged to stay around a bit longer. It was difficult to think of ways to contact Leo, since Iris Messages didn't come through, and it was hard to tell how long ago Leo had actually  _sent_  that scroll. It seemed like they were mostly just there in case he showed up within the week. It would be awful if they just missed him. 

Nico witnessed, for the first time, just how empty the camp became during the year. Everyone basically had the same schedule, with the exception of a few cabin based activities. There were a few camp-wide events planned out - mini-war games, things like capture the flag, just with the few people they had left. Evan and Andrea made a habit of skipping lessons. Things became routine quickly. 

Nico showed Will the sunflower he drew. He loved it. After that, they sat in silence on either sides of Nico's bunk. Will had his legs folded beneath him, a book in his hands. Nico was doodling aimlessly in his sketchbook. The windows and door were wide open - it was warm and not too windy out. Something about that early autumn air woke Nico up a bit. There was something, something he was always aware of in the back of his mind - something he didn't pay attention to or acknowledge, like his piercing (which he was fidgeting with using the tip of his tongue; the other day Nico had been dragged out of bed before he could take his stud out and there wasn't really any reason to  _not_ wear the ring anymore, not that anyone seemed worried about it anyways) it just kind of stayed in the corner of his mind. A perpetual tip-of-the-tongue sensation. Then it clicked. He paused, his hand freezing.  _Oh_.

Will closed his book. "I'm bored."

"Yeah."

"Let's do something."

"What?"

"I don't know."

Kayla appeared in the doorway. She hung into the frame slightly, her feet planted firmly outside. "Everyone's going down to the lake to set off sparklers. Nico's invited,"

"I'm not?" Will asked, faking offense.

"I  _guess_ ," She rolled her eyes. "If you promise not to be such a  _buzzkill_ ,"

"Shut it,"

Nico didn't bother asking what a sparkler was  _or_ closing the windows. He liked the fresh air.

When they got there, the sky was just beginning to change color. The few remaining campers were scattered around a different part of the lake than Nico usually went off to - they were closer to the rest of the camp, within sight of the Big House. Evan and Andrea were off to the edge of the group. The sisters weren't there anymore. Jason and Piper were a bit further away as well. They seemed to be enjoying a romantic moment together. 

"I know you don't like them," Kayla said quietly, not seeming at all bothered by the idea. Nico quickly gathered that they would be hanging out with Evan and Andrea that night.

"I've not really  _met_ them." Will said.

"Perfect. So you can meet them, and afterwards you can pretend like you haven't made a list in your head of all the things you didn't like,"

"First impressions are important."

Nico guessed that was true. His first impression of Evan and Andrea were that they were good friends, like they could serve as a model for something he wanted to have with someone else. But even with his inclusion in their friendship, he wasn't quite that close with them. They were just a good couple of people to look at when shaping his own friendships. That was a great impression on him. But Will probably never needed to see that side of them. All he saw was the trouble they caused. It was weird, just because they met them under different circumstances, they both had such wildly different ideas about them.

"Nicoooo, Kaylaaaa, what's up!" Evan called out, a bit too loudly. 

"And Will," Kayla nodded towards him.

"And Will!" Evan added. "Man, it feels like it's been a while," 

"Because we've been attending lessons and training and you haven't been." Nico pointed out.

"Oooh yeah. How's Greek history workin' out?"

"I don't remember anything. At all." Nico admitted. He was bad with dates and names, and that was what most of the lessons consisted of. He wasn't really too sure why it was so important they go over all of that anyways. Will had already taken the course a few years back, leaving Nico with another boy about his age as Chiron went through a detailed recounting of each decade. It was painfully boring, but on occasion, he'd bring up something a god did, and it would have meaning again, like that gave all the information some kind of base to stand on. For example, there existed "pre-Dionysus" and "post-Dionysus" in his mind, and anything more complicated than simple divisions like that were lost (and speaking of Dionysus, he was a whole lot different back in the day than he was at camp. Nico wondered why he would ditch being a cool, fun, laid-bad dude for being a jerk to a bunch of kids. So he heard, anyways. Mr. D was never mean to Nico). 

"Figures. I don't remember anything from that class either." 

"Because you never went?" Will said.

"Oh, true, true."

"Will's a goody-two-shoes, though." Andrea said. "Probably never done anything bad in his life."

"Correct." Will agreed. 

"I dunno what you see in this guy. He's like, boring," Andrea teased him. Nico hoped Will wouldn't take it to heart. "Speaking of boring, guess who has a date tomorrow with the literal most boring guy in the world ever?"

"You?" Kayla guessed.

"Nah. Evan,"

"Jacob Patterson," Evan said thoughtfully. "He's not  _that_ boring. He's the only other guy around my age anyways."

"He'll probably run off to New Rome eventually. He's getting a bit old to be sticking around here," Andrea said.

"But I'm not?"

"You don't count as an adult if you're eighteen and still refuse to eat your vegetables. That's a requirement for adulthood."

"Jacob Patterson..." Will tapped his finger on his chin. "How old  _is_ he?"

"Tail end of seventeen." Evan said.

"Oh, geez. Whoops."

"What? What's whoops?"

"I dated him last year. I didn't even realize he was, like, two years older than me." Will looked vaguely surprised. Nico noted that silently.  _He dated Jacob Patterson._ Of course, he didn't know who that was. He could guess - there were only a couple older guys left. But that wasn't the important part, anyways.

"Ew. Yeah, he acts like he's twelve anyways, so that's probably why. Maybe Evan can knock some sense into him," Andrea said.

"No, I don't think I should knock anything into anyone I'm dating," Evan said.

"That's cool though. Didn't think you _swung_ that way." Andrea said. Then, quieter, "You look kinda straight."

"I don't do much  _swinging_ at all. I'm barely sixteen." Will said.

"So, what? Evan was doing  _plenty_ of swinging when he was sixteen," 

Evan smiled, zoning out slightly. "Hah, yeah... I mean,  _no_ , you're right. You're kids. No swinging. For real."

"So... Will likes older guys," Andrea smirked.

"Shut up, it was an accident. And I didn't like him all that much anyways. You're right, he is boring,"

"What about you, Nico?"

"What  _about_ me?" Nico asked. The conversation was lost on him at that point.

"Anyone you got your eye on?"

"...No."

" _That_ was a confident answer," She rolled her eyes. "In all your life, haven't you ever, like, _liked_ anyone?"

"Kinda?" 

"Annabeth, right?" Evan said, suddenly.

Nico recoiled, then laughed. "What? Oh  _gods_ , no! I mean, no offense, but,  _no_. Why? Where did you even  _hear_ that?"

Evan shrugged. "Just heard it. In a whisper. Y'know, it's a small camp. Word gets around."

"Oh, gods. No. That's not right at all."

"Why'd they even think that, then?" Andrea asked. "Oh, are you just being polite since she's with Percy and all?"

"No. I never liked her. At all. I'm serious." 

"Boring! Who was it, then?"

"Doesn't matter. It wasn't her."

"Boring!" Andrea repeated, but she was still smiling. It was obvious she wasn't actually that bothered.

"Heads up!" Someone yelled from behind them. A box sailed through the air over Nico's head, making him flinch. Evan caught it.

"Cool," He said, fiddling with the packaging.

"Actual fireworks would be better," Kayla said.

"Obviously. But that's a lot of work." 

"Yeah. Do we have matches?" 

"I have a lighter," Evan paused to pull it out of his pocket.

"Why do you have a lighter?" Will asked, but it seemed less inquisitive and more exhausted. Like he was already imagining countless scenarios involving fire and delinquency in Evan's near future.

"Comes in handy. Good for setting stuff on fire."

"Isn't playing with fire banned  _especially_ for your cabin?" 

"Aw, don't tell on me," Evan pouted. 

"I'm not a snitch."

"I know. Trust me, we'd know." Andrea said.

"You ever use sparklers before, Nico?" Kayla asked.

"I don't think so. What are they?"

Evan put the mouth of the box against his hand and tipped it over, sliding rows of stick shaped objects neatly onto the grass. "Fireworks, kinda. Handheld ones. They just fizzle and you wave them around 'n stuff. It's cool."

"Oh." Nico liked fireworks. 

Evan lit the tip of one and waved it around to demonstrate. It made a surprisingly loud noise as it burned. Andrea reached under his arm and grabbed a few, tossing them to the others in the group. Nico held one, waiting for Andrea to light it for him. It was getting darker out. Soon, the others were tracing out letters and shapes with the lights. Nico was surprised - it seemed almost like something magical, the way the light stayed behind. But it was just a simple chemical reaction. Evan kept writing his name in the air as fast as he could to get as much of it to stay as possible. By the time Chiron announced they needed to get back to their cabins, Nico's vision was dotted with shadows from staring at the sparkles. Will didn't seem much better off. He kept shaking his head and blinking hard, but he was laughing.

"They're not that bad," Will relented once they had parted ways from Evan and Andrea. 

"Glad you changed your mind. Didn't think it was possible," Kayla joked.

"I've been changing a lot lately, actually," 

Kayla wrapped an arm around him. "You're growing up. Congrats."

"I don't need to be told that by my little sister." 

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. You know I'm right." Kayla split off from them and headed towards her own cabin. Will and Nico took a few steps further away, then Nico stopped. 

"Oh," Will said. 

"What?" 

"Nothing." 

They stared at each other silently. Will fidgeted with his hands for a second, then smiled and said "Goodnight" before jogging slightly to catch up with Kayla. Nico stood there for a few moments watching him leave, feeling a sort of tension. He was anticipating something in that moment, though he wasn't sure what. He shook his head and turned away. His whole cabin smelled of fresh air, and he slept peacefully that night, perfectly content with how simple his life now was. Still, in the back of his mind, just before he fell asleep, he hoped he would remember when he woke up the next day that he needed to talk to Jason. Why? What about? He didn't make it that far. He just drifted into sleep. 

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got myself together and finished this up.

Soon enough, Jason and Piper were set to leave again. Nico sat alone in his cabin. He had spent the past half hour pacing back and forth over his idea, and he came to the same conclusion he had half an hour ago: he needed to tell  _someone_. And who better than the guy that had witnessed the literal most mortifyingly embarrassing moment of his entire life?

He didn't feel like finding him, so he grabbed a spray bottle and sent a quick Iris Message.

"Nico?" Jason looked up, confused.

"Are you busy?" He asked.

"Just packing. Why-"

"Come over."

"Why-"

"Because."

"Wh-"

He waved his hand through the mist, and a few minutes later Jason appeared at his door.

"You alright?" 

"Yeah. Just wanted to talk about something." Nico tried to stay casual. He didn't want him to think it was something serious, but he seemed to already have that impression.

"...Alright. Big bro's here. What's up?" He sat next to Nico on his bed.

Nico coughed. "Well, uh,"

"Is this gonna take long?" Jason joked.

"Shut up. This is embarrassing." 

Jason covered his eyes with his hands. "Is it better if I'm not looking?"

"No."

"Damn."

"...It's about Will- why are you making that face?" 

Jason had broken into a wide grin, leaning forward with anticipation. "No, no, I'm not making a face," He turned away, crossing his arms and forcing on a far-too-serious expression. "Continue. What about Will?"

"That I..."

Jason waited.

"I like him-"

Nico barely got the words out of his mouth before Jason pulled him into a tight hug, laughing almost triumphantly. 

"Yes! Fuck yes!"

"Shut  _up,_ " Nico gasped between his own laughs. This was a happy thing. A nervous thing, but still a happy one. Not something to be sad or anxious about. They could laugh about it.

"Oh," Jason pulled away from him, still holding Nico at arm's length. "I was really hoping. Like, really, seriously hoping this would happen before I left. You two are so good for each other."

"You think?"

"Yeah. I mean, I'm not expert, but just the way you balance each other out... it seems good. Thank the gods,"

"It's not like we're together," Nico pointed out.

"Not  _yet,_ "

"Jason."

"Damn, I can't play wing-man. But you'll take care of this on your own, right?"

Nico hadn't really considered that - pursuing Will - before. He had to try and move forward. He needed to figure out if Will felt the same way. He couldn't tell.

"I guess I'll have to." He decided.

"Something'll work out. It's gotta. Just take it slow. Not too slow though - try and get it done this year."

"Why are you giving me a deadline?" Nico asked.

"Because when the reunion happens you  _have_ to bring him as your boyfriend. You  _have_ to."

" _Gods_. This wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, at least."

"I'm glad you told me. Wait, am I allowed to tell Piper?" 

 Nico sighed. "It's bound to make its way to her eventually anyways."

"I need to get back now. Because I need to pack. Not because I'm gonna tell her right now, like,  _right now_."

"Right."

Jason stood, waving him goodbye at the door. "Good luck, Nico."

He saw the two of them again later that day as they left the camp. They both waved enthusiastically at him and the other campers, not making a huge deal of their separation. After all, this was a temporary goodbye. Nico knew he'd seem them again all too soon.

 

~~~

 

Nico did, indeed, take it slow. Having Jason "on his side" in a way helped him feel like he could actually move forward with more confidence. The question in the end, though, was still  _did_ Will feel the same way? It was hard to tell if he was just being friendly, hard to know what signs to look for. He desperately wanted to play it safe. But Will - Will wouldn't make the first move. They'd be dancing around each other for ever at this rate. Nico had to do  _something_ , but days kept passing. Nothing changed.

Will came over one night. It was easier to sneak off, then; there was almost no one in his cabin anyways. They didn't make a big deal this time around. There was an awful chill in the cabin that made it unbearable to huddle up in the corner on the floor. Instead, Will hung a blanket over the top bunk and both of them laid side-by-side in Nico's bed, backed with a mound of pillows. Blankets were piled on their legs, Will's laptop sitting half-sunken on top. Nico's watched the colored lights shine on the hanging sheet. He couldn't really pay attention to what they were watching, and Will couldn't, either. He was babbling on about something nervously. He kept shifting closer to Nico, then further away, then closer again, back and forth. Then Nico reached out and took his hand. Will kept going on for a few seconds more, then stopped, abruptly. Nico's heart shook with belated hesitation. Will's fingers closed over the back of his hand and he leaned back into the pillows behind them. They sat for a few moments, shoulders pressed together tensely.

"I kinda thought you liked Leo, to be honest," He muttered.

Nico laughed, and Will laughed, too. They just sat there, laughing, at first at themselves for their nervousness, but then just because it was easy and fun to laugh together. After they finally calmed down, Nico moved slightly, resting his head on Will's shoulder, and they sat for the rest of the night pretending to watch the screen but really just enjoying each other's company. It was over, just like that. Quick and easy. The next morning Nico took to holding Will's -  _his boyfriend's_ \- hand in public. And he didn't feel a single bit of fear or shame. Just simple, perfect love. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest, I'm not very proud of how this turned out. I probably shouldn't have posted a time-wasting project with no plot. Regardless, I'll keep it up of course and maybe touch it up later or add on to the end. But, the more important news: I've written an entirely new fanfic. And this time it's actually good.  
> That's all I'll say for now. It's completed so I'll be focusing my time on editing it and making it presentable/as canon compliant as it can be. Expect an upload soon if you're interested.  
> PS there's a tiiiiny hint in this chapter (which is already a tiny chapter) as to what the new fic will be about.


End file.
